1794: Jabez Ricker exchanges land with the shaker devotee network of Alfred, Maine, for land in Bakerstown (present-day Poland). Shortly after arriving at the property, travelers, for accommodation, knock on your door and the innkeeper activity begins.
1797: Ricker’s circle of relatives opens the Wentworth Ricker Inn, later known as mansion House, as a stagecoach stop.
1809: Hiram Ricker, founder of Poland Spring Water, is born.
1834: Hiram takes over from his father Wentworth.
1844: Suffering from dyspepsia, Hiram drinks abundantly from the source of the active ingredients and is cured. Although an uncle and his father had similar experiences, Hiram was the first to proclaim that the fountain had medicinal properties.
1845: Hiram begins sharing water with his neighbors and friends, mineral water bottled in women’s jeans. Advertising
1859: The circle of relatives makes their first advertising sales of water in Poland through the promotion of water through a cousin in Portland and other agents. 1860 Dr. Eliphalet Clark of Portland begins prescribing Polish mineral spring water to patients.
1869: Hiram hands over control of the circle of relatives business to his eldest son, Edward “E. P. “Ricker, who oversaw the first major expansions of Mansion House and other adjustments at Ricker Hill.
1875: Alvan Bolster “AB” Ricker joins the company. Historically, AB oversees the kitchen and farms and focuses on the great food cravings of the developing complex.
1876: The Polish Spring House is built due to the popularity of water and the demand for rooms. The bottle of Moses is created to celebrate the opening of the new hotel. The Mansion House continues to be used as a hotel all year round.
1881: Hiram Weston Ricker joins the circle of relatives business. Hiram will focus on selling water and will also help organize the Maine Advertising Bureau (Maine Tourism Association) and the Maine Automobile Association.
1893: Hiram Ricker, Patriarch of The Polish Spring dies. Poland Water receives an award at the Worlds Columbian Exposition in Chicago for its purity: its first major recognition
1894: At the end of the Exposition, the family purchases the Maine state building from the state and sends it to the complex.
1895: To celebrate Poland’s centennial and its move to the Polish Spring, the Rickers rededicated the Maine State Building as a library and gallery. Nettie Ricker, Hiram and Janette’s youngest daughter, oversees the gallery.
1896: Poland Spring opens what will be the oldest golf course in a hotel in the United States. The course, originally nine holes, was designed by Arthur Fenn, considered the first professional golf designer born in the United States.
1904: Poland Water at the Louisiana Purchase Expo in St. Louis and receives the Grand Prix, “Overcoming All the Waters of the World”.
1907: The new bottling and spring space is completed. Designed by Harry C. Wilkinson, presents hygiene and modernity of style, as well as elegance and craftsmanship.
1912: The Chapel of All Souls opens at Poland Spring Resort, an interfaith place of worship.
1913: The Riccar Inn (now the Presidential Inn) opens.
1933: With the repeal of the ban, the use of the Moses bottle is sold to a distillery in the hope of generating new revenue.
1936-37: Declining business, bad debts, and succession control cripple Ricker’s businesses. To Hiram Ricker
1946: Charles Ricker, the last member of the circle of ricker relatives involved in Hiram Ricker
1962: Saul Feldman acquires Poland Spring Resort and Water. Il is the latest to own the 5,000-acre property and the hotel and water businesses in a single entity.
1963: Feldman builds Maine Inn for use in the position of Mansion House, which offered the privacy and amenities needed to attract guests.
1966: Poland Spring Resort becomes the largest women’s education center in the Job Corps program until its closure in 1969. All buildings in the complex are used for the program.
1972: Mel Robbins, a Boston investor, begins operating the Poland Spring Resort, still owned by Feldman.
1973: Feldman sells Poland Spring Water Company to Perrier.
1975: On the night of July 3, the vacant Polish Spring House occupies the chimney and is razed to the ground. As the construction has been used for several years, it has been secured and has never been rebuilt. The cause of the chimney is unknown.
1977: Perrier sells Poland Spring Water Company to Paul den Haene, who builds a new, larger and sleeker factory on some other component of the property. began to oversee the recovery of the two historic structures.
1978: The ruined remains of Mansion House are fed through fire, the old Ricker Farm hill. Advertising
1980: The Perrier Group (later acquired through what is now Nestlé Waters North America) purchases the den Haene logo in hopes of making the once-proud company successful again.
1982: Mel Robbins and his wife, Cyndi, move from operating the Poland Spring Resort to acquiring their assets in Feldman.
1985: Poland Spring Water becomes the first herbal spring water logo in the United States.
1998: Beginning of the recovery of the historic bottling plant and spring.
2000: Poland Spring Water opens its bottling plant in Hollis, Maine.
2002: Inauguration of the Polish Spring Preservation Park with the restoration of the old bottling plant and the spring, as well as several kilometers of recreational trails.
2009: Poland Spring Water opens a third bottling plant in Kingfield, Maine.
2020: The Polish Spring logo celebrates its 175th anniversary.
2021: One Rock Capital Partners, in partnership with Metropoulos
Source: Polish Spring Conservation Society, exhibition at the Bottling Museum
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