HAMLET - On May 3rd, 1903 J.P. Gibbons and his family stepped off the train in Hamlet, NC with a plan.
He set out to bring bottled Coca-Cola to the Carolinas.
Gibbond planned to bring franchise Coca-Cola distribution to four counties in North Carolina and two in South Carolina.
Prior to this, people had to go to the local drug store soda fountain to enjoy a cold Coke.
Gibbons was one of the first to ever bottle Coca-Cola in North Carolina and introduced the drink to every town, crossroads and village store in the state.
The new company was originally called Crown Carbonating Company, then later Hamlet Coca-Cola Bottling Company, and was one of the longest continuous businesses in Hamlet.
Gibbons built his first bottling company on Raleigh Street next to what was the Town Municipal Building.
Years later, the bottling operation was moved to Highway 74 in east Hamlet into a much larger building.
In the beginning, the glass bottles were cleaned, refilled, and corked by hand.
Local orders were first delivered by horse and wagon, and out-of-town orders delivered in long, flat crates.
These efforts helped build a thirst for Coke that survived the Great Depression and the sugar rationing of World War I and World War II.
By the early 1970s, hand-washed bottles and horse-drawn carts had given way to sophisticated bottling and distribution operations.
*More information on Mr. Gibbons can be found on the Historical Hamlet Facebook page. I appreciate their assistance in denoting information used in writing this article.
