How John Barleycorn
Lost Out In Graham
Wlit'ii Carry \nlioii shout'd up in 1907
saloon keepers liegan
I»
sweat.
By JIM WK KI K
Unlike collon and tobacco, corn
liquor was never king in central North
Carolina, but it enjoyed its own fief-
doms in scattered sections of the slate
in the last decades of the 19th century
and in the first half-dozen years of the
2()th century.
Among the towns where saloons
thrived was Graham, countyseat of
Alamance. It was in Graham that "John
Barleycorn" and Miss Carry Nation
butted heads on a hot July day in 1907.
Miss Nation, a vehement— and often
violent— opponent of liquor who was
nationally known for her crusades
against saloons, didn’t bring her ax to
Graham, and after she departed a man
could still buy a jug. But the writing
was on the wall; the end was near for
legal booze.
There was a growing national senti¬
ment against alcohol at the time, and
the famous Miss Nation undoubtedly
built much of the road that led to pro¬
hibition.
Tipplers in Graham, who had already
seen their saloons closed, would see the
state go "dry" in 1908.
Between 1*875 and 1906. Graham was
a toddling little countyseat that more or
less catered to drinking men. regardless
of race; it was a town where bartenders
took pride in serv ing com whisky made
nearby by people they knew personally.
And it was legal. The sheriffs of that
time wouldn’t have dreamed of hassling
a farmer for having a still. (Under a
state law. Stokes said, a man could
make liquor for his personal use. but
there were regulations to be met in
order to retail the product.)
l-ocal Distillery
Within a short walking distance of the
courthouse until at least 1906. several
bars or saloons stayed open every night
until lOor 10:30. and until II p.m. on
Saturdays.
On the outskirts of Graham, within
sight of the sheriffs office, a legal dis¬
tillery churned out jug after jug of John
Barleycorn while incoming trains deliv¬
ered dozens of barrels of rye whisky,
wine and beer for places such as the
"Peco Saloon."
The only apparent reminders of Gra¬
ham's "wide-open" era remaining are
twx» lurn-of-thc-century pottery whisky
jugs that are displayed in a glass case in
the lobby of the Graham Municipal
Building.
One jug held a gallon, the second a
half-gallon. Both bear the words. "A.
Lacy Holt's Distillery Graham. N.C."
"His still was about seven miles south
of town." explains Dr. Durwood Stokes.
78. who remembers Holt. The distiller,
although a resident of Graham, had his
liquor manufacturing operation on a
farm.
But liquor was made closer to town.
"There was a stillhousc on the prop¬
erty behind where McDonald's (Res¬
taurant) is now located." says Stokes, a
retired Lion College professor who
w rote the history of Graham in 1985.
He said he has seen that still site, off
what is now the 400 block of South
Main Street, mentioned in an old land
deed as the Jackie Albright Stillhousc.
The man who ran the still around and
after 1900 was W. Sherman Vestal, who
later became the manager of Graham’s
alcoholic beverage dispensary, a short¬
lived. government controlled operation
similar to today's "ABC" stores, which
succeeded the bars and saloons.
Carry Nation's Stand
Vestal and others, according to
Stokes, watched anxiously as Miss Na¬
tion. a stout, no-nonsense woman of 61.
marched to a spot directly in front of the
dispensary. She "expressed her opinion
on the institution and the business in
plain language without mincing terms."
the Gleaner reported.
The tough Kentucky native had a
habit of carrying a Bible in one hand
Grahams historian, retired Elon College pro lessor Dr Ourvrood Stokes, recalls the days when whiskey stills,
bars, and saloons were commonplace in his home town. The |ugs are in a historical display at city hall.
16
THE STATE. MARCH 1987
