Monday, March 12, 2012

Old Salem Coffee Pot

I have always noticed the large coffee pot at the Downtown Middle School, but last week, I began to wonder where did it come from and how long has it been there. 
First, I did some research on the Old Salem Coffee Pot.  Here is what I found on Wikipedia -
From Wikipedia (source http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Salem)

The coffee pot

The Old Salem community (and Winston-Salem as a whole) is popularly represented by a tin coffee pot, originally built by Moravian brothers, Samuel and Julius Mickey, in 1858 as an advertisement for their tinsmith shop. Traditionally said to hold "740 gallons of coffee", it was originally located at the intersection of Belews Street and Main Street in front of his shop. That location was the border between Winston and Salem before the two towns merged. When the cities merged in 1913, it came to symbolize the joining of the two communities.
The pot was knocked down numerous times by traffic. Finally in 1920, after the pot was struck again by an out-of-control car and knocked from its spot, the city forced the coffee pot's removal from its place on the street for violating advertising laws and for traffic safety reasons. An outcry from residents, led by Wachovia Historical Society head Henry Fries and Moravian Bishop Edward Rondthaler, had it restored, but placed in a much safer location, further back from the road. The pot was finally moved for good in 1959 when Interstate 40 went through the location at Belews and Main. The Coffee Pot is owned by the City and is located at the north end of Old Salem at a traffic island formed by Old Salem Road, Main Street and Brookstown Avenue.

Coffee Pot in Old Salem - One of the great symbols of our City.  But, this statue has been in its location since 1959.  Check out this link http://www.digitalforsyth.org/photos/10658 on Digital Forsyth for a picture of it being relocated from Main Street and Belews Street in 1959.

The replica of the Old Salem Coffee Pot is located at the Downtown Elementary School. 
Replica Coffee Pot at the Downtown Middle School (see how it got there below)



This is hidden below the bushes but it clearly provides the details about the Coffee Pot. 




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