The Salem Coffee Pot
Introduction
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Images
The Coffee Pot in its original location, outside the Mickey Brothers' shop.
Backstory and Context
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Originally a marker for the Mickey Brothers' tinsmith shop, this giant tin coffee pot was erected in 1848. When the brothers' property was sold to L.B. Brickenstein in 1924, the new owners offered the coffee pot to the local Wachovia Historical Society, to be displayed in the local Moravian Boys' School. However, there simply was not space for it in the school, and instead the Society moved it to the corner of South Main Street and Brookstone Avenue, where it was recognizable as an unofficial border between Salem and Winston. For many years, the coffee pot served as an "out of bounds" marker for students attending Salem College, as they were not allowed past the Salem limits. Rumors of Civil War soldiers hiding inside the pot abound in local history, though there is no proof of such events. Due to the construction of Interstate 40, the Salem Coffee Pot was moved to its current location in 1960.
Sources
The Salem Coffee Pot, The Wachovia Historical Society. Accessed October 2nd 2020. http://www.wachoviahistoricalsociety.org/literature/salemcoffeepot.html.
Atlas Obscura
The Winston-Salem Journal
Atlas Obscura