News - Featured Story

Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2009

Barq’s is this year’s Biloxi ornament

Birthplace of famous soda featured

BILOXI — Barq’s Famous Olde Tyme Root Beer will be on Christmas trees across the Coast this year.

The soda that was created in Biloxi in 1898 is celebrated 111 years later as the 2009 Christmas ornament in the Biloxi Main Street collection of landmarks.

The ornament will be unveiled at tonight’s annual meeting of the Biloxi Main Street District at the Beau Rivage, which the public is invited to attend.

Barq’s Birthplace ornament features a large bottle outside the building where Barq’s was produced in Biloxi.

Kay Miller, director of Biloxi Main Street, said they wanted the building, still on Keller Avenue, to look as it did in the past and combined several photos to come up with the ornament design.

“The Barq family helped us,” she said.

Barq’s Root Beer had its start when Edward Barq, Sr. married Elodie Graugnard in New Orleans in 1898 and moved to Biloxi. They bought the Biloxi Artesian Bottling Works on Keller Avenue and began bottling soft drinks.

They washed bottles and made formulas at night and delivered their drinks by wagon during the day.

In 1936, Barq’s moved to a large production plant on Lameuse Street.

Edward Barq Jr. took over the company after his father’s death in 1943 and the bottlers grew to more than 200 nationwide.

Edward Jr. died in 1970 and his descendants sold the business to New Orleans businessmen John Koerner and John Oudt. Coca-Cola Company acquired Barq’s in 1995.

Barq’s Root Beer is now distributed worldwide.

This is the 13th Biloxi landmark collector’s edition ornament and all 13 will be in limited supply at tonight’s meeting and throughout the holiday season at the Bond-Grant House, 932 Howard Ave.

Previous ornaments in the series include the witch weather vane on the old Peoples Bank, the Biloxi Lighthouse, the Church of the Redeemer, the Saenger Theatre, the Breilmaier House, the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Biloxi City Hall, West End Fire Company Museum, Dantzler House, the Bond Grant House, Mary Mahoney’s and the old Biloxi Hospital.

The 2009 Barq’s Birthplace ornament is $20 and the ornaments from previous years are $25 each.

Complete sets of 13 are $260.

All proceeds will help Biloxi Main Street promote, preserve and revitalize downtown Biloxi.