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Columbus in Muscogee County, Georgia — The American South (South Atlantic)
 

John Stith Pemberton

— Heritage Park —

 
 
John Stith Pemberton Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Mark Hilton, February 4, 2017
1. John Stith Pemberton Marker
Inscription. Beginning in the 1850s, John Pemberton manufactured wholesale drugs and chemicals in Columbus and operated drug stores here. He moved to Atlanta in 1870 and began selling Coca-Cola from his drugstore. By 1886, he had organized a company to distribute it.

In 1919, Ernest Woodruff, a Columbus native who had moved to Atlanta, W.C. Bradley, and others purchased control of Coca-Cola. W.C. Bradley served as Chairman of the Board of Coca-Cola for the next two decades.
Ernest's son Robert Winship Woodruff, another Columbus native, became President of the company in the 1920s. Known as "Mr. Coca-Cola," Robert Woodruff made Coca-Cola an international company.

Columbus Roberts founded the first Coca-Cola bottling plants in Columbus in 1901.
 
Erected by the Historic Columbus Foundation, Inc., Uptown Columbus, Inc., and the City of Columbus.
 
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Industry & CommerceScience & Medicine. A significant historical year for this entry is 1870.
 
Location. Marker has been reported missing. It was located near 32° 27.574′ N, 84° 59.622′ W. Marker was in Columbus, Georgia, in Muscogee County. Marker was at the intersection of Broadway and
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West 7th Street on Broadway. Located within Heritage Park. Touch for map. Marker was at or near this postal address: 700 Front Avenue, Columbus GA 31901, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this location. Col. W. L. Salisbury (within shouting distance of this marker); Origin of Memorial Day (within shouting distance of this marker); Dr. Pemberton’s Country Home (within shouting distance of this marker); Woodruff Farm House and Log Cabin (within shouting distance of this marker); Bricks & Clay Products (within shouting distance of this marker); Walker – Peters – Langdon House (within shouting distance of this marker); 700 Broadway (within shouting distance of this marker); Sarah Turner Butler Heritage Corner (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Columbus.
 
Regarding John Stith Pemberton. Coca Cola originates from an alcoholic drink based on cocaine and wine, which made for a more toxic beverage, known as Coca Wine. Coca Wine was first developed in 1863 by a French-Corsican entrepreneur in Paris, Angelo Mariani. His brand “Vin Mariani”, made from Peruvian Coca leaves and Bordeaux wine became an overnight success.

John Pemberton developed a popular American beverage based on Mariani’s version, called Pemberton’s French Wine Coca. When his home state passed the
John Stith Pemberton Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Mark Hilton, February 4, 2017
2. John Stith Pemberton Marker
Prohibition legislations in 1886, Pemberton scrambled to come up with a non-alcoholic version replacing the wine with a syrup and naming it Coca Cola. (Cocaine remained the principle active ingredient of the new carbonated drink for nearly another two decades).

Despite Atlanta’s alcohol ban, production of French Wine Coca continued until Pemberton’s death in 1888, even outselling his new alcohol-free version, Coca-Cola. Pemberton, himself a morphine addict (morphine addiction was known as 'old soldier sickness' after the civil war) following an injury in the Civil War, marketed French Wine Coca to upper class intellectuals.

During the Battle of Columbus, then Lt. Colonel Pemberton received a saber wound on his chest and was shot. These wounds led to a morphine addiction. In an effort to create a 'cure' for his addiction, he formulated an early version of Coca-Cola.

He added ingredients that Vin Mariani lacked, such as damiana, a reputed cure for impotence, as well as kola nut, a source of caffeine, both of which were later included in Coca-Cola.

As the growing fear of drug abuse made coca-based drinks less popular, Pemberton’s successors preemptively took the cocaine out of his drink (at least most of it) in 1903, 11 years before the drug was officially banned in 1914, forcing Vin Mariani and other Coca Wine brands out of business and off the
John Stith Pemberton statue next to marker. image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Mark Hilton, February 4, 2017
3. John Stith Pemberton statue next to marker.
menu forever. Meanwhile, Coca Cola went on to become America’s favorite beverage. Despite strong historical evidence, the Coca-Cola Company officially denies the presence of cocaine in any of its products — past or present.
 
Related markers. Click here for a list of markers that are related to this marker.
 
John Stith Pemberton image. Click for full size.
Public Domain
4. John Stith Pemberton
Display of Pemberton's drugstore memorabilia. image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Mark Hilton, February 4, 2017
5. Display of Pemberton's drugstore memorabilia.
Located at the Columbus Visitors Center at 900 Front Avenue
Pemberton drugstore & Coca-Cola display at Columbus Visitors Center. image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Mark Hilton, February 4, 2017
6. Pemberton drugstore & Coca-Cola display at Columbus Visitors Center.
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on March 6, 2022. It was originally submitted on February 9, 2017, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. This page has been viewed 974 times since then and 31 times this year. Last updated on March 2, 2022, by James L.Whitman of Eufaula, Alabama. Photos:   1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on February 9, 2017, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.

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Mar. 29, 2024