Collector John Patterson of Spencer recently acquired this rare Salisbury whiskey bottle and estimates that it’s from a period around 1901-1903. Is it named for the famous Sept. 27, 1903, wreck in which a train going from Monroe, Va., to Spencer derailed outside of Danville, Va., and killed 11 people? “I would think that it pre-dates the Wreck of the Old 97,” Patterson says. “The engine pulling the express train No. 97 was Locomotive No. 1102. The locomotive pictured on the label is No. 1059. I can’t say for sure if No. 1059 is older than No. 1102, because they are two different styles of locomotives.” A good question: Was the whiskey named before the wreck or for the wreck? H.C. Trott was a prosperous saloon owner and distiller in Salisbury. He built what historians call the Trott-Reid House at 419 E. Bank St. around 1901 and occupied it until his death in 1920. His widow, Ida, lived there into the 1940s. Leonard Reid later became the house’s owner. If you have a “Yesterday” photograph to share with the Post, contact Mark Wineka at 704-797-4263, or mwineka@salisburypost.com.