Henry W. Stoll

An Illustrated History of Los Angeles County, California: Containing a history of Los Angeles County from the earliest period of its occupancy to the present time, together with glimpses of its prosepctive future .. and biographical mention of many of its pioneers and also of prominent citizens of to-day (The Lewis Publishing Co.,1889), p. 625 (biography of P.C. Stoll on p. 806) (http://ca-files.biofiles.us/LA1889-601-700.pdf):

H.W. Stoll . . . was born in Germany, February 25, 1839. His parents emigrated to this country when he was only thirteen years of age and located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where they remained twelve years, and in 1864 removed to St. Louis, Missouri. From there he went to St. Joseph, the same State, and then to Denver, Colorado, from where he drove across the plains to California, reaching Los Angeles in 1867. During the following year he established the Los Angeles Soda-water Works. . . . Their immense establishment contains the latest and most complete and expensive apparatus on the Pacific Coast. Besides generators, bottling machines, reservoirs, syrup tanks, flavoring extract distillery, a large force of men are constantly employed, with a capacity of turning off 3,000 to 5,000 dozen per day of sarsaparilla, soda mineral water, syrups, cordials and other temperance beverages . . . .

In 1873 Mr. Stoll married Miss Louisa Behn, a native of Los Angeles. Her father, John J. Behn, was one of the earliest pioneers, coming here in the ‘40s. His wife was a daughter of General Castello, of Ensinado, Lower California.

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Sixty years in Southern California, 1853-1913, containing the reminiscences of Harris Newmark. Edited by Maurice H. Newmark, pp. 64, 86, 363-64, 409 (Collection: "California as I Saw It": First-Person Narratives of California's Early Years, 1849-1900; American Memory, Library of Congress):

John Moran, Sr., conducted a vineyard on San Pedro Street near the present Ninth, in addition to which he initiated the soda-water business here, selling his product at twenty-five cents a bottle. Soda water, however, was too "soft" a drink to find much favor and little was done to establish the trade on a firm basis until 1867, when H. W. Stoll, a German, drove from Colorado to California and organized the Los Angeles Soda Water Works. As soon as he began to manufacture the aerated beverages, Stevens & Wood set up the first soda-water fountain in Los Angeles, on North Spring Street near the Post Office. After that, bubbling water and strangely colored syrups gained in popularity until, in 1876, quite an expensive fountain was purchased by Preuss & Pironi's drug store, on Spring Street opposite Court. And what is more, they brought in hogsheads from Saratoga what would be difficult [p.364] to find in all Los Angeles to-day: Congress, Vichy and Kissingen waters. Stoll, by the way, in 1873, married Fräulein Louisa Behn, daughter of John Behn. . . .

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Burton B. Porter, One of the People: His Own Story (1907, published by the author), p. 301 (http://books.google.com/books?id=8McEAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA301&lpg=PA301&dq...):

Los Angeles, at that time, had ten or twelve thousand inhabitants, and seemed a rather dull town. [1878]

Mr. Watson had sent me to Mr. H. W. Stoll, who was engaged in the soda water business, and finding that he was making a very poor article of ginger ale, I engaged to teach him how to make it so that it would be equal to the imported Belfast ginger ale. It took me several days, but I made a sample that his customers pronounced as good as the foreign article, and he paid me a good price for teaching him.

.... On the sixth of May, 1861, I left for Los Angeles and made my friend H. W. Stoll a short visit.

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Southern California Quarterly, vol. 24, 1942, p. 96

(http://books.google.com/books?id=RBcLAAAAIAAJ&q=h.w.+stoll+soda&dq=...):

In 1868, Stevens and Wood introduced the first soda fountain in Los Angeles on North Spring Street, near the post office. They bought their supplies from H.W. Stoll, who, the year previous, had established the Los Angeles Soda Water Works.

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Henry W. Stoll obituary:

“Call Sounds for Pioneer: A Long-Time Business Man Answers Summons”

Henry W. Stoll, Who Crossed Plains to Los Angeles Nearly Forty Years Ago and Lived to be One of Her Most Prosperous and Respected Citizens

All that is mortal of one of the well-known pioneers of Los Angeles will be laid to rest in Rosedale today.

Henry W. Stoll, head of the firm of H.W. Stoll & Co., who have conducted a soda-water establishment in this city for thirty-seven years, died on Monday evening at his residence, No. 844 South Hill street, after an illness of eight weeks. He was a man of sterling qualities and during his long residence in this city has been known as one of its solid business men, and was a prominent member of the Board of Trade.

The deceased was born in Germany, February 25, 1839, and had therefore passed his sixty-sixth anniversary. When but a lad of thirteen years he came to America with his parents and settled at Milwaukee, Wis., twelve years later moving to St. Louis and then to Denver. In 1867 the spirit to “go West” was still with him, and he accompanied a part of pioneers who drove across the plains, arriving in Los Angeles in 1867.

During the following year Mr. Stoll started the soda-water works and gradually increased the plant until it is today said to be one of the largest establishments of its kind on the Pacific Coast, and over which he remained in active control during all the intervening years.

In 1873 he married Miss Louisa Behn, a native of Los Angeles, whose mother was a daughter of Gen. Costello of Ensenada, Lower California. Of this union nine children were born. …

The funeral will be held this afternoon at 2:30 at the German Lutheran Church, corner of Eighth and Hill streets …