The unpretentious frame building is the birthplace of one of Biloxi’s most important industries, the manufacturing of Barq’s Root Beer and other soft drinks. Here Edward Barq, Sr. developed the formula for and first bottled the now-famous Barq’s Root Beer in 1898. The following year he opened the Biloxi Artesian Bottling Works. Early on their most popular creation was an orange-flavored soda called Orangine, which won a gold medal at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition World’s Fair in Chicago, Illinois. In the early-twentieth century, the firm expanded to include the neighboring W. Moran Macaroni Factory (no longer extant). By 1931 the enterprise had begun to expand seriously, having opened plants in New Orleans and Mobile, and, due to the expanded operation, it moved to its present location, between Main and Lameuse Streets north of the railroad tracks in 1937. Today Barq’s is distributed in thirty-eight states.
Address: 224 Keller Avenue
City: Biloxi
County: Harrison
Accessibility: building is closed; can view from vehicle/road