Dr Pepper Museum

When you think of notable native Texans, perhaps names like Beyoncé, Willie Nelson, President George W. Bush, or Bonnie & Clyde come to mind. Well, there’s an important name missing from that list: Pepper. Dr Pepper, that is.

Dr Pepper, the oldest major soft drink in the US, was first invented and bottled in Waco, TX in 1885 — one whole year before the invention of Coca-Cola! In the 1880s, a young pharmacist, Charles Alderton, was working at Morrison’s Old Corner Drug Store. Alderton spent the majority of his time mixing up medicine for the Wacoians. In his free time, though, he liked to serve carbonated drinks at the soda fountain. One of his concoctions very quickly became a smash hit with customers, who would order the drink by asking Alderton to “shoot them a ‘Waco.’” And thus, Dr Pepper (née “a Waco”) was born.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Dr Pepper was introduced to the 20 million attendees of the 1904 World’s Fair Exposition in St. Louis. This was the same World’s Fair where hamburger and hot dog buns as well as ice cream cones made their début! 

Dr Pepper was such a hit particularly because of its unprecedented flavor profile. It has similarities to cola, but the American Food and Drug Administration officially ruled that Dr Pepper is neither a cola nor a root beer. It’s not a fruit-flavored soft drink, either. It’s quite literally in a category of its own: it’s a “pepper soda,” named for the brand itself.

In its early days, Dr Pepper was advertised as a cure-all, claiming to “aid digestion and restore vim, vigor, and vitality.” One of the original advertisements from the 1920s said, “Drink a Bite to Eat at 10, 2, and 4 o’clock.” This slogan would later become the inspiration for Dr Pepper Poker: a type of poker where tens, twos, and fours are wild!

By the 1950s, it branded itself as “the friendly Pepper-Upper.” As times changed, so did its slogans, evolving from being “the most misunderstood soft drink” to “the most original soft drink ever in the whole wide world” in the 1970s. The iconic “Be a Pepper” campaign in 1977 captured hearts, later followed by “Be You.” Today, its slogan, “There’s just more to it,” celebrates the 23 fruit flavors that give Dr Pepper its (again, literally) one-of-a-kind, delicious taste.

Despite the fact that Dr Pepper took the nation and then the world by storm, its ties to Waco have remained strong. In fact, the former bottling plant now serves as the Dr Pepper museum in downtown Waco. The museum has entertained and educated thousands of visitors since it was first opened in 1991. The Dr Pepper Museum holds one of the best soft drink memorabilia collections in the world and prides itself on being one part of an incredibly unique success story of American free enterprise. Visitors also get a free drink with paid admission. Cheers to that!