Birthplace of Pepsi-Cola

Caleb Bradham was called Doc because he liked to mix remedies in his pharmacy at the corner of Pollack and Middle Streets.  He made tonics for rheumatism, cramps, coughs, dandruff, constipation and dog mange.  But it wasn't until he concocted a new soft-drink to sell at his marble-topped fountain that he finally hit on something that would make him rich.

All of his customers liked his new drink, which they called Brad's Drink.  That gave Bradham the idea that he should turn over his drugstore to an assistant and hit the road selling the syrup he used to make his drink.  He didn't particularly like calling it Brad's Drink, so for $100 he bought a registered brand name, Pep Kola, from a defunct New Jersey company, and changed it to Pepsi-Cola, which he thought had more bounce.  Within ten years, Bradham's drink was being sold in twenty-four states, and he was a rich man.

After World War I, problems arose.  The price of sugar shot up dramatically and, fearing a shortage, Bradham invested heavily in it.  Soon the market broke and the price of sugar fell to a fourth of what it had been.  It broke Bradham, and his company closed.  He returned to his drugstore and his remedies.

Pepsi-Cola might have disappeared completely if a few distributors hadn't stockpiled barrels of syrup.  The formula for making Pepsi and the registered name had been bought from receivership, sold, and resold, before another company started making the drink in the thirties, a few years after Bradham's death.

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