Peter Kern (American businessman)
| Peter Kern | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
October 31, 1835 Zwingenberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany |
| Died | October 28, 1907 (aged 71) Knoxville, Tennessee, USA |
| Resting place |
Old Gray Cemetery Knoxville, Tennessee, USA |
| Occupation | Confectioner, businessman, politician |
| Spouse(s) | Henrietta Myer |
Peter Kern (October 31, 1835 – October 28, 1907) was a German-born American businessman and politician active in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He is best known as the founder of the confections company that eventually evolved into Kern's Bakery, a brand still marketed in the Knoxville area. The company's former confectionery and ice cream parlor, now called the Mall Building (or Oliver Hotel), still dominates the southwest corner of Market Square. Kern served as Knoxville's mayor from 1890 until 1892.
Kern was born in Zwingenberg (near Heidelberg) in Germany in 1835. He was trained as a shoemaker in his native country, and immigrated to New York in the early 1850s to practice this trade. By 1857, he had moved to Georgia, where he joined the Confederate army at the outbreak of the Civil War. Fighting with the 12th Georgia Infantry, he was wounded in action in Virginia, and sent home to Georgia to recover.
In Fall 1863, Kern, now healthy, began his return trip to Virginia to rejoin his fellow soldiers on the frontlines. As he was waiting on a train connection in Knoxville, however, Union forces under Ambrose Burnside occupied the city. Kern was captured, but released on condition that he remain in the city until the end of the war. After his release, Kern and fellow German immigrant William Heidel established a bakery at the corner of State Street and Main, which sold cookies made from flour and molasses to Union soldiers.
By the late 1860s, Kern had bought out Heidel's share, and had moved the business to a two-story building on Market Square. During this period, Kern added an ice cream parlor (or "ice cream saloon") to his confectionery. The parlor utilized a three-horsepower ice cream machine designed by Market Square gunsmith Thomas Burrier. Kern, who had to ship ice in from northern states during warmer months, became a local expert on refrigeration, and served as president of the Knoxville Ice Company during the 1880s.
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