Buffalo Lithia Water (later Buffalo Mineral Springs Water) was a brand of

lithia water Lithia water is defined as a type of mineral water characterized by the presence of lithium salt (chemistry), salts (such as the lithium carbonate, carbonate, lithium chloride, chloride, or lithium citrate, citrate of lithium). Natural lithia min ...

bottled in Buffalo Lithia Springs,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

. It was advertised with outsize medical claims, including the ability to treat

fever Fever or pyrexia in humans is a symptom of an anti-infection defense mechanism that appears with Human body temperature, body temperature exceeding the normal range caused by an increase in the body's temperature Human body temperature#Fever, s ...

s and

nervous disorder Anxiety disorders are a group of mental disorders characterized by significant and uncontrollable feelings of anxiety and fear such that a person's social, occupational, and personal functions are significantly impaired. Anxiety may cause phys ...

s. One ad promised a "Marvelous Efficiency in Gout, Rheumatism, ndGastrointestinal Dyspepsia." It was sold from the late 19th century to the 1950s. At the height of its popularity, it was available in approximately 20,000 groceries and pharmacies in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. In 1910, the

United States Attorney for the District of Columbia The United States attorney for the District of Columbia (USADC) is responsible for representing the Federal government of the United States, federal government in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. The U.S. Attorney's ...

filed suit against the company for misbranding and

false advertising False advertising is the act of publishing, transmitting, distributing or otherwise publicly circulating an advertisement containing a false claim, or statement, made intentionally, or recklessly, to promote the sale of property, goods or servi ...

, alleging that there was too little

lithium Lithium (from , , ) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Li and atomic number 3. It is a soft, silvery-white alkali metal. Under standard temperature and pressure, standard conditions, it is the least dense metal and the ...

in the water to qualify as a lithia water. Giving testimony in the case in 1912, a Dr.Collins testified that "for a person to obtain a therapeutic dose of lithium by drinking Buffalo Lithia Water, he would have to drink from 150,000 to 225,000 gallons of water per day." In 1917, the case was finally decided against Buffalo Lithia Water. The company was forced to change its name, rebranding itself as Buffalo Mineral Springs Water. Subsequent to the case, the company was sold. In the 1950s, the

United States Army Corps of Engineers The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is the military engineering branch of the United States Army. A direct reporting unit (DRU), it has three primary mission areas: Engineer Regiment, military construction, and civil wo ...

took possession of the property containing the original spring. During the building of the John H. Kerr Dam and the creation of

Kerr Lake The John H. Kerr Reservoir (often called Kerr Lake in North Carolina and Bugg's Island Lake in Virginia) is a reservoir along the border of the U.S. states of North Carolina and Virginia. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers constructed the John ...

, the grounds were flooded. The bottling business was never re-opened.

References

{{Reflist Bottled water brands Soft drinks Patent medicines Lithia water Drink brands originating from patent medicines