Hot Time in the Old Town…This Weekend

Bradham's Drug Store, New Bern, circa 1913.
Bradham's Drug Store, New Bern, circa 1913, by Bayard Wootten.

New Bern residents this weekend are continuing celebrations of the 300th anniversary of the founding of their city. And some of my colleagues from the North Carolina Collection are playing a part.

The celebrations include the re-dedication of the U.S. Federal Courthouse at 10:30 this morning. The building’s lobby has undergone a few changes, including the addition of a small exhibit space. And that’s where you’ll find 22 prints by New Bern native Bayard Wootten hanging. Those prints are produced from glass negatives in the North Carolina Collection Photographic Archives.

The prints were produced between 1910 and 1916, the period coinciding with the bicentennial of New Bern’s founding. The exhibit includes photographs of city buildings(both interior and exterior shots), as well as images of the city waterfront and railyard.

The photo above depicts the inside of Bradham’s Drug Store about 1913. Here’s what the exhibit panel says about the photo:
Located on the ground floor of the Stanly Building, completed in 1913, on Middle Street at the corner of Broad Street was the “Broad Street Store” of the Bradham Drug Company. Caleb D. Bradham, inventor of Pepsi-Cola, used the store, which featured a decorative soda fountain, for retail sales.

Our friends at the New Bern-Craven County Public Library asked us to mention another fascinating exhibit that they’ve mounted in the Kellenberger Room. They’ve put on display documents, pamphlets and books illustrating the early history of New Bern and Craven County. Items include an original 1720 land patent for land along the Neuse River signed by Gov. Charles Eden and Thomas Pollock; the 1753 Custis Family Bible of New Bern; Abstract of the Army Accounts of the North-Carolina Line, 1794; the 1812 New Testament of the North Carolina branch of the DeGraffenried Family; and the sheet music for William Gaston’s The Old North State. They’ve sent us a link to more information on the library’s website. But they’re experiencing some web problems so the link may not work.

It’s not often you get to attend a 300th birthday celebration. Make sure you’re a part of this one.

3 thoughts on “Hot Time in the Old Town…This Weekend”

  1. The Southern Pharmaceutical Journal (1908) explains how to make the Delmonico Sundae advertised on the back bar mirror:
    “Use a long dish and put a small ladle of ice cream at each end. Then cut a half of a banana into four thin slices lengthwise. Put two of the pieces on the dish in an outward V-shape between the two moulds of ice cream, and then place a slice of sweet orange around the entire dish in each of the vacant places, or four all told. Pour over this an ounce of cherry wine syrup and a sprinkle of nuts; top off each mould with whipped cream and a cherry. Price, 20 cents.”
    Seems to have been quite a deal for Bradham’s to charge only 10 cents….

  2. Lew,
    Thanks for adding this tasty tidbit. I may try fixing a Delmonico Sundae this weekend. Sadly, I expect the banana alone will cost me more than 20 cents.

Leave a Reply to Kellenberger Room Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *