Lithia (water brand)
Lithia Spring Water is an American brand of high mineral content lithia water that naturally contains lithium carbonate. Since 1888 it has been sourced from an ancient Native American sacred spring that is part of the Stone Mountain, Georgia, geological pluton formation. Located at Lithia Springs, Georgia, on the boundary of Cobb and Douglas counties, approximately twelve miles from the city of Atlanta.
Lithia Spring Water contains a high ionic-mineral content, as measured by total dissolved solids of 2,300 milligrams per liter. It contains the following chemical elements, in amounts of 100 or more micrograms per liter: lithium, calcium, sulfate, magnesium, potassium, silica, and sodium.
The brand is owned by Lithia Spring Water, LLC.; Lithia Spring Water is sold directly from Historic Lithia Springs and shipped only within the United States.
History
Lithia Springs is an ancient Native American Indian medicinal spring. Until 1838 and the Trail of Tears, Lithia Springs was a healing center for the southern Cherokee Nation. The last Cherokee chief that ruled over the springs was named Ama-Kanasta who took his name from the 'sweet water' that flowed from the ancient spring.In 1882 the town of Lithia Springs, Georgia, was named after the natural Lithia water spring. So popular were the spring's medicinal waters that flowed from the spring that people came from long distances for its health benefits. The neighboring city of Austell, Georgia, was also founded due to the spring's popularity.
In 1887, Judge Bowden of Atlanta bought the springs with a group of investors and started bottling and selling Bowden Lithia spring water. In 1888 Bowden Lithia Spring Water Co. opened its offices at 131 West 42nd Street, New York City. That same year the Sweet Water Hotel, a 300-room luxury health resort, opened in Lithia Springs. The Sweet Water Hotel and its famous Lithia spring water were so popular that Mark Twain, the Vanderbilts, and presidents Cleveland, Taft, McKinley, and Theodore Roosevelt were said to have visited the Resort. The amenities of the resort included a large bottle of Lithia Spring Water delivered to each room and the world-famous Lithia Vapor Baths.
In 1887, Bowden Lithia Water won the "Gold Medal Par Excellence" at the Piedmont Exposition in Atlanta.