Rare? North Carolina Whiskey - Old Nick Whiskey Co, Williams, N.C.

[herndonbottles]

I was in Lancaster, PA a couple weekends ago and browsing through some antique shops and came across this bottle in a window.
THE OLD NICK WHISKEY CO
LOCK BOX No 26
WILLIAMS, N.C.
ESTABLISHED 1768

I have never heard of Williams, NC and I used my phone to google the town. I doubt if I would have thought of doing that but I think I got the idea in my head after watching too much American Pickers, Storage Wars, and similar shows where they google the name or town of the item they are thinking about buying. Google came up with virtually nothing for Williams, NC so I thought this might be something good. I couldn't pass it up.



The bottle is tooled top probably from late 1890s into to the turn of the century, clear, and a little cloudy.

It looks be a mail order whiskey and a competitor to Casper's whiskey.

Any ideas of the rarity, history, or info would be greatly appreciated.

I'm bringing to the Baltimore show and I'm sure it will generate a lot of interest among the North Carolina or whiskey collectors.

Thanks, Peter

 

[herndonbottles]

Here's a close up of the embossing

 

[sandchip]

Cool!

 

[surfaceone]

Hello Peter,

"WILLIAMS

Formerly an incorporated town in Yadkin County, the Williams community is located near Lewisville in western Forsyth County. This area of Yadkin County was annexed to Forsyth County in 1927. Col. Joseph Williams, a Virginia native, came to the area in 1771 and acquired eight thousand acres straddling both sides of the Yadkin River. This plantation, called Panther Creek because of its proximity to the creek of the same name, is near present day Lewisville. Nicholas Glenn Williams, a descendant of Col. Williams, diversified the farming and cattle operations by using the excess corn produced on the farm to distill whiskey. The distillery eventually employed several hundred people and manufactured a brand of liquor called "Old Nick" that became popular with the locals and was reported to have been shipped all over the world.

In North Carolina's pre-prohibition era, Yadkin County was home to a number of federally licensed distilleries, including its biggest, the Williams distillery. The town of Williams, with a population of fifty-two individuals, was incorporated in 1903 to bypass the state law banning distilleries from being located in unincorporated areas. With the statewide ban on distilleries in 1908, however, the Williams distillery was forced to close, the "Old Nick" whiskey brand was discontinued, and the town of Williams faded away.

The Williams community is remembered not only for its famous beverage, but also for the illustrious Williams family, who made numerous contributions to politics and other endeavors. Robert, a son of the Colonel, served in Congress and was governor of Mississippi. Another son, Lewis, served in the NC General Assembly and the House of Representatives. A cousin, Thomas Lanier Williams, took the nickname "Tennessee" and became a famous playwright. Another cousin of the family, Ben Ames Williams, wrote about the Williams plantation in his book A House Divided." From.

Reggie Lynch is keeping his, and has a nice collection. All 4 of his are pictured RIGHT HERE.

His Lock Box No. 11 variant:

From Reggie.

"Nicholas Lanier Williams, b. 4 Feb 1800 Panther Creek, Surry Co., NC. Established "Old Nick Williams Co." which was established in 1768 and made whiskey and other liquors. Married Mary Graves Kerr, a Williams cousin, on 4 Aug 1824 in Halifax, NC. His summer home, "the Cabins", was in Ashe County, up in the mountains. In 1885, their main home, "Panther Creek", built by Col. Joseph Williams burnt down. A lot of family history and heirlooms were destroyed. This was located in Yadkin County, NC. Nicholas died 3 Dec 1886 and buried with his wife in Panther Creek cemetery. His wife Mary had proceeded him, dying on 29 June 1884." From.

Old Nick had trouble with the Revenuers IN 1905.

"As early as 1903 North Carolina began the process of controlling the making of liquor by enacting a law forbidding distilleries outside of chartered towns. The most famous of the in-town distillers is the Old Nick Whiskey Company of Panther Creek in what was originally Surry County and now in Forsythe. The Williams’ place became Williams, N.C. and with the passage of more strict prohibition in 1908 the area reverted back to the old farm. Most of the stills and several hundred employees moved to Kentucky to continue the trade." From.

From.

From.

"At the September club meeting, member Pem Woodlief presented part of his collection, which consisted mostly of rare NC whiskies. You just had to watch Frank Bishop drooling to get an impression of how good these bottles were.

Pem told a very colorful story of Nick Williams, who's clear whiskey fifth is pictured below (OLD NICK WHISKEY). Nick Williams was a powerful man in Winston Salem. When Forsythe County started giving him trouble about his whiskey production, he used his political pull to have the county line moved so his business would instead reside in Yadkin County.

Another story about Old Nick is when he confronted a tax revenuer who accused Nick of not paying tax on his liquor. Nick pulled the revenuer from the Federal Building in downtown Winston and buggy whipped him in the street. Nick was never charged or arrested for this incident.

The town of Williams was incorporated by Nick in response to a 1903 state law that whiskey could only be produced in an incorporated town. The town of Williams consisted of his distillery, house, and not much more.

Below are pictures of some of the bottles and jugs shown by Pem. Some pictures are "clickable" to see a close-up view." From.

"Clear quart with label under glass for ESTABLISHED 1768 / OLD NICK'S / RYE / WILLIAMS, N.C.. Simply awesome - has to be a top 5 whiskey from N.C. Belongs to one of Old Nick's grandsons (and is not for sale). Thanks to Corky Shore for providing the pictures." From.

 

[epackage]

I would send a PM to Chris (wilimingtonbottleboys) about it, Williams isn't all that far from Wilmington and he is the resident expert on NC bottles in that area...Jim

 

[OldNickWilliamsCo]

For all of you who are interested in Old Nick...We have re-established the distillery and are beginning production in a few weeks. We are keeping everything as true to the name as we can. The distillery is being built right where it once was. We have had the original logos recreated and have done countless hours of research to restore the history and the brand. Old Nick's grandsons and great grandsons are the owners of the company and still live on the very same land today. Be watching out!www.oldnickwilliamsco.comhttps://www.facebook.com/oldnickwhiskey