Biedenharn Museum and Gardens

Joseph Biedenharn was born in Vicksburg, Mississippi, in 1866 and left school at 14 to work in his father's candy shop, which had a soda fountain. He began by bottling soda water and flavored drinks and then added Coca-Cola; the museum credits him with first bottling it in the summer of 1894. He sold it by the case to farms and lumber camps at five cents a bottle, following his father's advice: "Son, go into the nickel business," according to 64 Parishes.

In 1913 Biedenharn moved to Monroe and bought a small bottling plant. He and relatives went on to hold franchises in Shreveport and Monroe, in Texas cities including Texarkana, and in Mississippi and Arkansas. The house on Riverside Drive was built in 1913 as his private home. His daughter Emma Louise, called Emy-Lou, died in 1984, and the house is furnished as it was during her residence. She collected Bibles and religious art and she gardened, and the museum grew from those two interests.

The Coca-Cola Museum opened in 2008. It has a restored soda fountain, vintage signage, a bottle collection and a delivery truck. ELsong Garden, short for Emy-Lou's song, includes the Four Seasons Garden, an Oriental Garden and a Musical Grotto. The address is 2000 Riverside Drive, Monroe. The museum's website lists hours of Tuesday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and adult admission of $12 (November 2026); the garden and Bible museum alone cost $6.