The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1903-07-10
A HOUSE OF BOTTLES.
Singular Structure Erected by a
Nevada Man.
Building Material Being Scarce, the
Architectural Curiosity Results
Ten Thousand Bottles
Used.

'Tonopah, aside from being justly
famed the world over on account of
its vast mineral resource, hidden and
| otherwise, also occupies the unique
| distinction of numbering among its
Inhabitants man who is able to live
In a glass house and throw unlimited d
| quantities of stones at the same time
without suffering any of the serious
| inconvenience popularly supposed to
surround such an association, says the
Detroit Free Press.
Not tree grows within 60 miles of
the great Nevada mining camp, and
very naturally building material and
| fuel bring all sorts of fancy prices, the
commonest lumber selling for SOS a
thousand feet, while inferior grade of
| scrub cedar commands $22 cord.
Consequent upon this condition, vari-
GUS subterfuges are resorted to in the
architectural makeup of Tonopah, it
being nothing uncommon to encoun-
ter six or seven different styles with
| in close range of observation, and in
most instances it appears as if the
p1cturesqueness of design. There are
houses made of straw, of burlap sacks
trimmed with blue jean overalls; of tin
from tive-gallon oil cans; of dry goods
! and crackerboX lumber; of mud,
stone, tents, cloth-in fact almost
every sort of contrivance is resorted
to as makeshift for place of habita-
fion. Int ~ hoe rapo q in ad for Willie NJ,
f. Peck, miner in the employ of the
Tonopah Mining company, to devise
way of living not only in a class by
himself so far as novelty is concerned,
but fully as comfortable and enduring
| as that offered by any of the more im-
posing edifices that adorn the swell
portion of Tonopah. He has built Of
empty beer bottles house 16x2O feet
in the clear, with ceilings eight feet
high, and containing two rooms. 1t
was built in October of last year by
Mr.. Peck entirely unaided, at such odd
moments as he could spare from his
regular duties at the mine. Water was
then selling at $1.50 barrel, hence
the principal element of expense CEN
tered in the supply of mud that was
employed as a mortar between the bot
ties comprising the edifce.
Ten thousand empty beer bottles
were incorporated in the structure,
and even in this arrangement consid-
cradle artistic taste was shown, the
northern and western exposures being
composed of bottles of light green hue,
while those on the south and east are
almost black. The combination lends
a very pleasant effect on the outside.
The inside walls are plastered with
lime, which is spread to depth sufti-
cient to cover the protruding bottle
necks about one inch, thus obliterat-
ing all rough features and making a
smooth surface.
Mr.. Peck lived all last winter in his
peculiar home with his wife and two
children, a girl of seven and a boy aged
three years, and says that, while the
water in many residences of Tonopah
reached the freezing point quite often,
his family found their glass house ex-
ceedingly warm and comfortable at
all times. He has enough bottles on
hand for another room, and it is his
intention to utilize them at his leisure
in building an addition to his prem
ises.
Mr.. Peck removed with his family
from Prescott, A. T., to Tonopahj last
July, and it is quite evident he will get
along all right wherever he is.