Elkins
Elkins Drug Co./The Corner Drug Store
1904—1915
The Elkins Drug Company chartered in 1904 with incorporators W.D. Nydegger, John Wilt, J.S. Posten, W.C. Posten, and S.B. Haffner (“Charters Issued,” 1904). Its first manager was Dr. A.K. Burley, who unfortunately died of a purposeful overdose in 1913 (“Dr. A.K. Burley,” 1913).
Evidently, Elkins Drug Co. operated a retail front via the Corner Drug Store. This is my theory at least, as the middle bottle below bears both of their names on it.
Elkins Drug Co. ended up on the list of corporations delinquent on their taxes in 1915, leading me to believe that this is when it closed (“Corporations Delinquent,” 1915).
Elkins Drug Co., "Sanitary Sterilizer" medicine bottle. Cylindrical, tall, w/ graduation lines on reverse.
Elkins Drug Co./The Corner Drug Store, Elkins medicine bottle. Paneled sides, oval mold, with prescription finish. Likely 3- to 4-ounces.
The Corner Drug Store, Elkins medicine bottle. Oval, graduated, collared ring finish, 1-ounce.
The Corner Drug Store, Elkins dose glass. Acid-etched text, 4-tablespoons capacity.
F.S. Johnston Drug Co. (of Elkins)
1903—1930s(?)
The first records I have of Felix S. Johnston are from 1895, when he did business in only Davis (R.L. Polk & Co., 1896). Elkins was his second branch, beginning sometime in 1903 (Mercantile Agency, July 1903). His company existed into at least the 1930s, as the 1933 Elkins city directory lists two of his stores at 17 Third Street and 117 Third Street (R.L. Polk & Co., 1933). Their location at 117 Third Street was known as the Family Drug Store (R.L. Polk & Co., 1921).
F.S. Johnston Drug Co., Elkins and Davis medicine bottle. 1/2-Ounce. Graduated, oval mold, collared ring finish.
F.S. Johnston Drug Co., Elkins and Davis medicine bottle. Un-graduated, oval mold, prescription finish (lip style).
F.S. Johnston Drug Co., Elkins, Davis, and Parsons medicine bottle. 6-ounce capacity. Graduated, oval mold, collared ring finish.
Neale’s Pharmacy/Neale’s Drug Store
1915—1999
The Neale Drug Company organized in 1915 in Elkins (“Charters,” 1915) with George H. Neale, S.B. Haffner, John B. Wilt, Ross Leader, and C.B. Bosworth as incorporators. George H. Neale was, of course, the owner and namesake of the company. By 1921 at the latest, their store operated at 307 Davis Avenue (R.L. Polk & Co., 1921). By 1923, they had moved to 323 Davis Avenue (R.L. Polk & Co., 1923) where they remained for at least a decade. Neale also owned Tygart Pharmacy, at least in 1933 (R.L. Polk & Co., 1933), but this store was at 212 Davis Avenue.
Following the death of George Neale, his son, John Neale, returned to Elkins to run the family business (“John Neale,” 2018). This occurred sometime before 1959. John was highly successful in the pharmacy business, earning a Ph.D. from the West Virginia University School of Pharmacy and serving as President of the West Virginia Pharmaceutical Association (“Pharmacy Seminar,” 1966).
John Neale passed away fairly recently, in 2018 (“John Neale,” 2018). It seems Neale’s Drug Store dissolved in 1999 as a corporation, so I can only imagine that this is when John retired and closed the store for good.
Neale Drugs, Elkins medicine bottle. Oval, collared ring finish.
Neale's Pharmacy, Elkins medicine bottle. Rectangular, skirted neck, graduated, 3-ounces, with a collared ring finish.
Neale's Drug Store, Elkins 4-ounce medicine bottle. Oval, graduated, "cathedral" shoulders, threaded finish (screw cap). Yellow ACL.
Wilbur L. Stalnaker
1900—1930s(?)
Wilbur L. Stalnaker appears as a druggist as early as 1900 (Mercantile Agency, Sep. 1900). Seemingly, throughout all available years of directories, his store was at the corner of Randolph Avenue and 3rd Street (R.L. Polk & Co., 1921; R.L. Polk & Co., 1933). Not much information outside of this is available about Stalnaker, but it seems his business was quite successful and lasted several decades.
W.L. Stalnaker, Elkins medicine bottle. 2-ounces, oval mold, graduated, collared ring finish. "WLS" monogram on shoulder.
Tygart Pharmacy
1927/8—1930s(?)
Tygart Drug Co. seems to have opened sometime between 1926 and 1929 (R.L. Polk & Co., 1926, 1929) and was located at 212 Davis Avenue. The company was initially ran by W.D. Talbott and F.A. Ravenscroft. By 1933, they came under the ownership of George H. Neale, of Neale Drug Co., who kept its name and ran it as a second business (R.L. Polk & Co., 1933).
Tygart Pharmacy, Elkins ACL medicine bottle. Oval mold, "cathedral" shoulders, threaded/screw cap finish, 1-ounce.
The Valley Chemical Co.
1917(?)
The Valley Chemical Company is only mentioned for one year, 1917, in newspapers (“West Virginia Patents,” 1917), and never in any directories. In this particular article, it is noted that they produced liniments to treat diseases; in other words, they produced patent medicines.
The Valley Chemical Company, Deth-O-Lene liniment, Elkins medicine/cure bottle. Paper labeled.
Huttonsville
Perry Bosworth/Bosworth Drug Co.
1894—1920s(?)
The first mention of Dr. Perry Bosworth I can locate comes in 1894, in an article about him being summoned to assist a man who had been shot in Elkins (“State News,” 1894). He first appears in directories as a physician and druggist in 1898 (R.L. Polk & Co., 1899). By 1900, the Bosworth Drug Co. had formed, composed of Perry Bosworth and J.L. Bosworth (Mercantile Agency, Sep. 1900). They continue in listings together as druggists up to 1913.
The Bosworth Drug Co. was around in the late 1910s, listed as a branch of Mill Creek (Mercantile Agency, Sep. 1919).
Perry Bosworth, on the other hand, continued as a druggist independently past my records—at least up until 1924 (Mercantile Agency, Sep. 1924).
Perry Bosworth, embossed medicine bottle. Roughly 1- or 2-ounces. Oval mold, prescription finish.
Bosworth Drug Co., Little Liver Granules, Huttonsville medicine/cure bottle. Paper labeled vial. Top.
Middle.
Bottom.
Enoch W. Channell
1906—1918
Enoch W. Channell is first listed as the proprietor of a general store in 1906 (Mercantile Agency, Sep. 1906). He was also a postmaster for Huttonsville (“Postmasters,” 1915), a stakeholder in the West Virginia Feed & Flour Co. of Clarksburg (“New Charters,” 1914), and a recorder for the Huttonsville town hall (“West Virginia Elections,” 1908).
His final appearance is in 1918 (Mercantile Agency, Sep. 1918).
E.W. Channell, Crane's Quinine and Tar, Huttonsville medicine/cure bottle. Paper label. Front.
Reverse.
References
Charters issued. (1904, March 4). The Clarksburg Daily Telegram, 1.
Corporations delinquent for taxes. (1915, December 29). The Wheeling Intelligencer, 11.
Dr. A.K. Burley. (1913, February 8). The Fairmont West Virginian, 5.
John Neale. (2018). Floyd Mortuary. https://www.floydmortuary.com/obituaries/John-Neale
New charters issued. (1914, August 12). The Charleston Daily Mail, 8.
Pharmacy seminar ends today at 1. (1966, October 2). Beckley Post-Herald The Raleigh Register, 15.
Postmasters. (1915, February 15). The Daily Telegram, 1.
R.L. Polk & Co. (1896). West Virginia state gazetteer and business directory, volume V, 1895-1896.
R.L. Polk & Co. (1899). West Virginia state gazetteer and business directory, volume VII, 1898-1899.
R.L. Polk & Co. (1921). Polk’s Elkins city directory 1921-1922.
R.L. Polk & Co. (1933). Polk’s Elkins city directory 1933-34, Volume V.
State news. (1894, October 5). The Clarksburg Telegram, 2.
West Virginia elections. (1908, January 7). Martinsburg Evening Journal, 5.
West Virginia patents. (1917, February 6). The Wheeling Intelligencer, 10.