W.S. Wills


Company Names, addresses, dates:
   W.S. Wills, Covington VA
  Wills's Pharmacy, Covington VA

Notes:
William Sclater Wills (1839-1918)1 was the first druggist in Covington, VA2.
William fought in the Civil War, and afterwards opened a drugstore in Covington VA2.
In 1909, he took out an advertisement offering to sell his drug store, due to his "declining years"3.
At some point William retired and his daughter Miss Lena Wills took over managing the store. William was blind for the last 10 years of his life2.


Bottles:
wills_01 This is a clear 2.9" bottle embossed:
vertical: W.S. WILLS / COVINGTON, VA.


other items:
wills_02 This is an envelope, canceled 19-Oct-1917. It says:
top left: AFTER 5 DAYS, RETURN TO / WILLS' PHARMCY / COVINGTON, VIRGINIA
addressee: Mr C.H. Revercomb Jr. / A.M.A. / Fort Defiance Va
wills_03 This is the letter that was inside the envelope above. It says:
leetter heading: / WILLS' PHARMCY / L.M. WILLS, PROPRIETOR / PRESCRIPTIONS A SPECIALTY / COVINGTON, VA.
Presumably the reference to "L.M. Wills, Propriotor" was referring to Lena, William's daughter.

1Find-a-grave entry for William Sclater Wills
2Alleghany Historical Society notes from a presentation by Mrs. Hazel Deitz, February 1977
3Richmond Times Dispatch, 11-Jan-1909, page 7


Back to my drugtstore bottle home page.

This page last updated on July 27, 2025.