Marcey Brothers / Arlington County Dairy


Company Names, addresses, dates
  Julius Marcey Dairy, 1240 28 St NW, Washington DC (1906-1925) 1
  Arlington County Dairy, 2701 Wilson Blvd, Clarendon VA (1925-1945) 2,3

Notes:
The Marcey Brothers were:
    Julius Marcey (1884-1956)3,4,
    Curtis Marcey (1880-1947)4,5, and
    Harvey Lee Marcey (1886-1947)4,6
Julius was the president of the company. Their original dairy was at 1240 28th Street NW in the Georgetown section of Washington DC. It went by the name "Cherrydale Dairy" as well as "Julius Marcey Dairy". It was located there from about 1906 to 19251.

In 1925, a $35,000 pasteurizing and dairy plant was built in Arlington with the help of business partner Jonathan W. Myers (c.1885-1940)7 on the corner of Wilson Blvd and Holly Street (modern day Danville Street)8, in the Clarendon section of Arlington2.
Arlington County Dairy was at that location (aka 2701 Wilson Blvd) from 1925 until it was sold to the Alexandria County Dairy in 19453.

One of the bottles below is embossed with "MARCEY AND MYERS", but I don't think the dairy went by that name very long, as all the newspaper articles and advertisements I found refer to it as "Marcey Brothers", and they make no mention of Myers. Myers shows up in the 1940 census as still living in Arlington, but with his occupation listed as farmer.


Marcey & Myers Bottles:

marcey_11 Book # 25 (in the 'Milks' section)
This is a 7.25" tall, clear, 1-pint milk bottle embossed:
front on top: / ONE PINT / LIQUID
front in a round slugplate: ARLINGTON COUNTY DAIRY / MARCEY / AND / MYERS / CLARENDON, VA.
below the round slugplate: '5' inside of a 'W'
rear shoulder: SEALED / '5' inside of a 'W'


Marcey Brothers Bottles:
marcey_01 Book # 22 (in the 'Milks' section)
This is a 7.25" tall, clear, 1-pint milk bottle embossed:
front on top: ACD (in a circle) / ONE PINT / LIQUID
front in a round slugplate: ARLINGTON COUNTY DAIRY / MARCEY BROS. / INC. / CLARENDON, VA.
below the round slugplate: REGISTERED
rear: SEALED / B1
base: ACD
Variations I have (all have 'SEALED II" in the slug plate):
  ONE QUART size
  HALF PINT size
  ONE PINT size with "M" in the circle (instead of 'ACD')
  1/4 PINT size with "M" in the circle (instead of 'ACD')
marcey_10 Book # 23 (in the 'Milks' section)
This is a 4.4" tall, clear, 1/4-pint milk bottle embossed:
front on top: 1/4 PINT
front in a round slugplate: ARLINGTON COUNTY / MARCEY / BROS / INC. / DAIRY
rear: SEALED / BI / REGISTERED
base: ACD
marcey_08 Book # 24 (in the 'Milks' section)
This variation doesn't say 'MARCEY BROS' on it. It's 7.25" tall, clear, and embossed:
above slugplate: ONE PINT LIQUID
round slugplate: ARLINGTON COUNTY DAIRY / INC. / CLARENDON, VA.
on the rear heel: SEALED 48
base: ACD / 26
marcey_02 Book # 26 (in the 'Milks' section)
This is a 7.25" tall, clear, 1-pint milk bottle. It is embossed:
front: ARLINGTON / COUNTY / DAIRY
rear: ACD / Safe for Babies
around the heel: ONE PINT LIQ. MARCEY BROS. INC. REGISTERED / SEALED B1
base: ACD / 4B 40
Variations I have
  ONE QUART size (says "ACD / 32 8 B 8" on base)
  HALF PINT size (says "SEALED II" vs "SEALED B1" on heel & says "ACD / 4 2" on base)
marcey_09 Book # 27 (in the 'Milks' section)
This is a 7.25" tall, clear, 1-pint milk bottle - the front & rear views are shown.
I'm told that the term "STORE BOTTLE" embossed on the back means that this bottle was sold in stores, as opposed to being delivered directly from the Dairy to someone's home. The "3¢" may refer to the deposit the purchaser had to pay, which they got back when they returned the empty bottle.
It is embossed:
front: 3¢ / ARLINGTON / COUNTY / DAIRY
front heel: REGISTERED / SEALED B1
rear: 3¢ / STORE / BOTTLE
rear heel: ONE PINT LIQ. MARCEY BROS. INC.
base: 3¢ / 2072-1B 41
Variations I have:
  ONE QUART size with '3¢ / 1070-1B 43' embossed on the base
  HALF PINT size with '3¢ / 3059-1B 41' embossed on the base
marcey_04 Book # 29 (in the 'Milks' section)
This is a 6.8" tall, clear, 1-pint milk bottle - it's shorter but wider than the other 1-pint milks shown on this page. It is embossed:
in script: Arlington Dairy / Arlington, Va.
front heel: ONE PINT LIQUID
rear heel: REGISTERED
base: 2099-1B 41


Other items:
lid_01 This is a 2.25" diameter cardboard bottle lid, wih blue & red markings. It says:
lid: ARLINGTON COUNTY DAIRY / 2701 WILSON BLVD. / ARLINGTON, VA. / PASTEURIZED / GRADE A MILK / HOMOGENIZED / MARCEY BROS. INC. / QUALITY & SERVICE GUARANTEED
lid_02 This is a 1.7" diameter cardboard bottle lid with blue & red markings. It says:
lid: ARLINGTON COUNTY DAIRY / TUBERCULIN / TESTED / GRADE A RAW MILK / MARCEY BROS. INC. / CLARENDON VIRGINIA / WALNUT 8530 CLARENDON 90
lid_03 This is a 2.25" diameter cardboard bottle lid with blue & red markings. It says:
lid: ARLINGTON COUNTY DAIRY / PASTEURIZED / GRADE A MILK / Quality Service GUARANTEED / MARCEY BROS. INC. / 2701 WILSON BLVD. ARLINGTON, VA.


1 Potomac Bottle Collectors Club book (years/addresses in this book were derived from DC city directories)
2 Washington Post 1925-Apr-24 page 2 (contract given to build dairy plant in Arlington County)
3 Evening star 30-Sep-1956, p.37 (obituary for Julius Marcey)
4 US Census for 1900, Marcey Family, Alexandria district 0003 (lists birth years)
5 Evening Star newspaper 4-Oct-1947, p.5 (obituary for Curtis Marcey)
6 Evening Star newspaper 26-Jun-1947, p.28 (obituary for Harvey Lee Marcey)
7 Find-a-grave for J. W. Myers
8 This Arlington Public Library web site


Back to my Arlington bottle home page.


This page last updated on January 28, 2023.