July 2026 Update Updates to the Indiana Bottle Collectors website will be temporarily paused during the month of July 2026 as we work behind the scenes on a major reorganization of the site. Over the past several months, it has become clear that maintaining a comprehensive reference covering the entire state of Indiana requires more time than can realistically be dedicated to the project. To allow for more frequent updates and a higher-quality resource, the website will soon shift its primary focus to Northwest Indiana, with special emphasis on Lake, Porter, and LaPorte Counties. The Indiana Hutchinson Bottle and Indiana Embossed Dairy Bottle reference sections will continue to cover the entire state and will remain active and updated for the whole state. However, most other sections outside Northwest Indiana will no longer receive regular updates. Additional information about these changes, including the reasons behind them and what visitors can expect moving forward, will be announced soon. Thank you to everyone who has supported the project by sharing photographs, historical information, and bottle discoveries. Your contributions have helped make this website possible, and we appreciate your continued support as we begin this new chapter.

Rouse & Co. Bottling Works

  • County: Lake County
  • Location: Schneider
  • Years Active in the Business: c. 1910s — 1920s

Schneider, Indiana is a very small town at the very southern tip of Lake County with a population of only 269 people according to the 2020 US census. In 1920, the population was only 258 people, so it definitely hasn’t been a growing town. The bottle below was made in 1918.

The only information we could find from the Lowell, Indiana Public Library is that Harry Benjamin Rouse owned both a pop factory and a restaurant, and that there was also a Rouse & Ahlgrim Hotel.

The book Indiana: One Hundred and Fifty Years of American Development, Vol. 3 (1931) mentions that Harry Rouse was born on November 4, 1884, in Kankakee, Illinois, and was the son of Benjamin F. Rouse. After finishing high school, Harry pursued a business career. The book notes that “for some time he owned and operated a bottling works, trading the plant for a farm.” He later worked as a traveling salesman until he was elected Sheriff of Jasper County, Indiana, in 1926.

Harry Rouse died on August 16, 1973, at the age of 88.

An article from the Lake County Times, August 7, 1922 reported: “LOWELL, Ind., Aug. 7.— A near fatal accident occurred at the Thayer crossing of the Monon railroad when northbound Monon train No. 38 struck an automobile containing Mr. and Mrs. Cecil Green, their little daughter, and two small boys of Schneider. Aside from a few minor bruises, all of the occupants of the car escaped injury. The automobile was completely demolished and thrown a distance of about 100 feet. Mr. Green is the manager of the Rouse Bottling Works at Schneider and was on his way to Thayer to deliver a few cases of pop when the accident happened. That none of the occupants of the car were killed is miraculous.”

So we known for sure they ran into the 1920s too.

Bottle Photos

#1

Bottle Type: 8 oz. soda, machine-made crown top.
Embossing: ROUSE & CO. / BOTTLING WORKS / CONTENTS / 8 FL. OZ. / SCHNEIDER, IND.
Other Marks: ROUSE (embossed on base), “18 S 1” (embossed on heel).
Notes: 
Photo Credit: Indiana Bottle Collectors

View Full-Size Image

Buildings • Business • People Photos

#1

We wanted to share this view of Schneider from 1910. At first, we weren’t sure if this could be it, but we did find that there was a Rouse & Ahlgrim Hotel, and the building on the corner even says “Hotel” on the window. Harry Rouse owned a pop factory and a restaurant, and this building advertises soft drinks and a restaurant on the windows. Could this have been the bottling works? Maybe we’ll never know. It’s a mystery.
Photo Source: Wikipedia

View Full-Size Image

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *