Edwards Drug Store
Company Names, addresses, dates:
(original pharmacy, name unknown), Leesburg VA, (1835-18??) 1
Edwards & Hutchison, King Street, Leesburg VA (on_or_before_1874-ca.1900) 2,3
Edwards & Son, Leesburg VA (ca.1900-ca.1925) 2,3,4
Edwards Drug Store, Leesburg VA (ca.1925-1968) 1,4
Emswiller Pharmacy, Leesburg VA (1968-1974) 1
Notes:
The Edwards drugstore was originally founded in 1835, although I don't know what it was
called back then1.
Dr. Richard Henderson Edwards (1813-1897)5
was likely one of the founders of this drug store. His name (R.H. Edwards) is embossed on one of
the bottles below. He would have been 22 years old when the drugstore was founded, and he was
listed as a Leesburg physician in the 1850 & 1860 US Census.
Julian A. Hutchison (1843-1900)3 was his partner as early as 1870, and the firm
was called 'Edwards & Hutchison' during the 1870s2.
Edwards died in 1897, and Hutchison died 3 years later in 1900, but somewhere around that time
the name changed to "Edwards & Son", which may have referred to Richard H. Edwards (father) and
Thomas Washington Edwards (1854-1927)6
(son). Or maybe Thomas was the father, and his son William Howard Edwards (1892-1981)7
was the son. The latter seems more likely, but I can't find evidence that William was
ever in the drugstore business. His occupation was listed as an "Engineer" in the 1920 Census.
Carl Emswiller Jr (1935-2009)8
purchased the Edwards drugstore in 1868, and renamed it "Emswiller Pharmacy", where he ran it until he
moved it in 19741.
Bottles:
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This is a clear 5.2" bottle embossed:
vertical slug plate: (E&H monogram) / EDWARDS & HUTCHISON / PHARMACEUTISTS / LEESBURG VA.
base: 10
I looked it up, and "Pharmaceutist" is a real word, or at least it was 100 years ago.
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This is a clear 5.2" bottle embossed:
horizontal: (RHE monogram)
vertical: DR. R.H. EDWARDS / PHARMACEUTIST / LEESBURG VA.
base: W T 10 & Co
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This is a clear 3.5" bottle with a label:
label: CAMPHORATED OIL / FOR EXTERNAL USE ONLY / ... / EDWARDS DRUG STORE /
PRESCRIPTION SPECIALISTS / LEESBURG, VIRGINIA
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This is a clear 3.3" bottle with a label:
label: ELIXIR LACTOPEPTIN / (Contains 18% Alcohol) / ... / EDWARDS & SON, Druggists /
LEESBURG, VIRGINIA / We Guarantee Every Drug Bearing our Label to be Best Quality and Strength
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This is a clear 3.5" bottle with a label:
label: CARBOLIC ACID / 86.4% ABSOLUTE PHENOL / ... / EDWARDS DRUG STORE /
PRESCRIPTION SPECIALISTS / LEESBURG, VIRGINIA
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This is a clear 3.5" bottle with a label:
label: ELIXIR LACTOPEPTIN / (Contains 18% Alcohol) / ... / EDWARDS & SON, Druggists /
LEESBURG, VIRGINIA / We Guarantee Every Drug Bearing our Label to be Best Quality and Strength
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Other Items:
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A list of historic buildings in Leesburg says that the building at 3 S. King Street once
housed the Edwards Drug Store, and that the building was originally built in 1835 and rebuilt
in 1918. The brick Merrill Lynch building in this photo, which was taken July 2010, is at 3 S. King Street.
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| | "EDWARDS DRUG STORE" labels |
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This is a 1.25" x 2.5" label that says:
label: CALAMINE LOTION / ... / EDWARDS DRUG STORE / PRESCRIPTION SPECIALISTS / LEESBURG, VIRGINIA
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This is a 1.25" x 2.5" label that says:
label: GLYCERIN / ... / EDWARDS DRUG STORE / PRESCRIPTION SPECIALISTS / LEESBURG, VIRGINIA
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This is a 1.25" x 2.5" label that says:
label: AROM. SPIRIT OF AMMONIA / ... / EDWARDS DRUG STORE / PRESCRIPTION SPECIALISTS / LEESBURG, VIRGINIA
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This is a 1.25" x 2.5" label that says:
label: (skull & crossbones with 'POISON' below it) CARBOLIC ACID / ... / EDWARDS DRUG STORE / PRESCRIPTION SPECIALISTS / LEESBURG, VIRGINIA
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This is a 1.25" x 2.5" label that says:
label: CAMPHORATED OIL / ... / EDWARDS DRUG STORE / PRESCRIPTION SPECIALISTS / LEESBURG, VIRGINIA
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| | "EDWARDS & SON" labels |
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This is a 1.25" x 2.5" label that says:
label: POWDERED ALUM / ... / EDWARDS & SON, Druggists / LEESBURG, VIRGINIA / ...
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This is a 1.25" x 2.5" label that says:
label: (skull & crossbones with the word 'POISON') AQUA AMONIA / ... / EDWARDS & SON, Druggists / LEESBURG, VIRGINIA / ...
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This is a 1.25" x 2.5" label that says:
label: CREAM TARTAR / ... / EDWARDS & SON, Druggists / LEESBURG, VIRGINIA / ...
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This is a 1.25" x 2.5" label that says:
label: FURNITURE POLISH / ... / EDWARDS & SON, Druggists / LEESBURG, VIRGINIA / ...
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This is a 1.25" x 2.5" label that says:
label: (SUN) CHOLERA MIXTURE, N F. / ... / EDWARDS & SON, Druggists / LEESBURG, VIRGINIA / ...
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This is a 1.25" x 2.5" label that says:
label: (skull & crossbones with the word 'POISON') BED BUG POISON / ... / EDWARDS & SON, Druggists / LEESBURG, VIRGINIA / ...
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This is a 1.25" x 2.5" label that says:
label: POISON COMPLETELY DENATURED ALCOHOL / ... / EDWARDS & SON, Druggists / LEESBURG, VIRGINIA / ...
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This is a 1.25" x 2.5" label that says:
label: ELIXIR LACTOPEPTIN / ... / EDWARDS & SON, Druggists / LEESBURG, VIRGINIA / ...
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1 Virginia House Joint Resolution Number 436, HJ436ER, in January 1997, regarding Carl Emswiller Jr.
2 Various Virginia Drugstore directories from years: 1870,1871,1911,1919,1920,1921
3 Richmond Daily Dispatch, Apr-15-1900, p.24 (obituary for Julian A. Hutchison)
4 Evening Star, Nov-18-1925, p.33 (earliest ad I found 'Edwards Drug Store' in Leesburg)
5 Find-a-grave for Richard Henderson Edwards, b:5-Sep-1813, d:1-Sep-1897 in Union Cemetery Leesburg VA
6 Find-a-grave for Thomas Washington Edwards, b:2-Aug-1854, d:12-Mar-1927 in Union Cemetery Leesburg VA
7 Find-a-grave for William Howard Edwards, b:18-May-1892, d:14-Jan-1981 in Union Cemetery Leesburg VA
8 Find-a-grave for Carl Emswiller Jr, b:21-Oct-1935, d:10-Dec-2009
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This page last updated on November 22, 2024.