Strother Drug Co


Company Names, addresses, dates: 1
  D.R. Lyman, corner Main & Market Streets, Lynchburg VA (1853-1855) 2,3
  Strother & Whitehead, corner Main & Market Streets, Lynchburg VA (1855) 3
  Strother & Whitehead, Bank Square, Lynchburg VA (1855-1857) 3,4
  W.A. Strother, Bank Square, Lynchburg VA (1857) 5
  Wm. A. Strother & Co, 126 Main Street, Lynchburg VA (1857-ca.1863) 5,6
  Wm. A. Strother, 126 Main Street, Lynchburg VA (ca.1865-ca.1885) 6,7
  Wm. A. Strother & Son, 904 Main St, Lynchburg VA (ca.1885-1887) 1
  Wm. A. Strother & Son, 906 Main St, Lynchburg VA (ca.1890-1897) 1
  Strother Drug Co, 906 Main Street, Lynchburg VA (1899-1907) 1
  Strother Drug Co, 210-212 9th Street, Lynchburg VA (1907-1908) 1
  Strother Drug Co, 918 Commerce Street, Lynchburg VA (1909-1924) 1
  Strother Drug Co, 1117-1125 Jefferson Street, Lynchburg VA (1926-1960+) 1


Notes:
 William Alexander Strother (1832-1892)9 got his start in the drugstore business as a clerk for the drugstore of John H. Wright. 10
In 1855, he and a partner purchased the drugstore of D. R. Lyman, and named it "Strother & Whitehead". His partner was Silas Whitehead. 3

In 1857, his partner Silas Whitehead passed away, and the the business was under his name alone.4
A month later, he picked up a new partner, P.D. Christian, and the business was renamed "Wm. A. Strother & Co", with Christian being the "& Co".11
In 1861, Strother enlisted in the C.S.A. army as a Lieutenant, but he got sick and resigned his commission later that year.9

The last newspaper mention I found of "Wm. A Strother & Co" was in 18636, and the first mention after that I found of it without the "& Co" was 18657, so sometime during those years he dropped his partner.
Then the first mention I found of "W.A. Strother & Son" was 1885.8
William Mitchell Strother (1857-1999)12 was his son.
William A. passed away in 189210, and his son took over the business. He kept the name "W.A. Strother & Son" for some time, but by 1899 the name had changed to just the "Strother Drug Co"1.
That is also the year that William M. Strother passed away.12

One of the receipts below is from 1904, and it lists R. O. Horton as the president of that Strother Drug Co, and D. Penick (1868-1914)13 as the vice-president.

In later years, Penick was listed as the president of the company.1
Penick also had his own Penick Drug Co in Lynchburg.
City directories also list a drugstore with ads that call it: "The Central Pharmacy / Strother Drug Co", at 1001 Main Street, with Penick listed as the manager. 14
So that drug store was also related to the Strother Drug Co.

The Strother Drug company continued until at least 1960, with a few changes of address. The last address was 1117-1125 Jefferson Street.1
Currently there is no building at that address.

Bottles:
strother_05 This is an aqua, 4.25" bottle embossed:
front panel: W.A. STROTHER / LYNCHBURG VA.
strother_01 Clear 5.5" bottle with a red and white label:
label: TINCTURE / IODINE / ALCOHOL 83% / For External / Use Only / ... / Contains 6 Fld Drms. / STROTHER / DRUG CO. / LYNCHBURG, VA.
strother_02 Clear 5.5" bottle with a blue and white label:
label: (TRADE MARK SDCo ESTABLISHED 1853) / BAY RUM / CONTAINS / 45% ALCOHOL / ... PREPARED BY / STROTHER / DRUG CO. / Lynchburg, Va.



Other Items:
strother_1891 This is an 8.5" x 6.75" receipt from 1891 that says:
permanent letterhead: W.A. STROTHER, / W.M. STROTHER. / Lynchburg, VA. 189__/ (picture of mortar & pestle with "SEMPER IDEM" and "WAS" monogram) / PERFUERY AND FANCY ARTICLES / BOUGHT OF / W.A. Strother & Son, WHOLESALE DRUGGISTS / CHEMICALs, PAINTS, & OILS / NO 906 MAIN ST.
stamped in purple ink: AUG 25 1891
strother_1904 This is an 8.5" x 5.75" receipt from 1904 that says:
permanent letterhead: R.O.HORTON, Prest. D.M.PENICK, Vice-Prest. H.H.HORTON, Secty & Treas. / STROTHER DRUG COMPANY,/ 906 MAIN ST. / LYNCHBURG, VA. / 614-616 STATE ST. / BRISTOL, TENN. / ESTABLISHED 1853, WHOLESALE / DRUGGISTS AND IMPORTERS / Druggists Sundries a Specialty. / Lynchburg, VA.
stamped in blue ink: 5/14/1904 / Messrs Graham, Robinson & Co / Graham's Forge, VA / ...
strother_1911 This is a receipt from 1911 that says:
permanent letterhead: STATEMENT PAID IN CAPITAL STOCK $100,000.00. / STROTHER DRUG COMPANY,/ ESTABLISHED 1853 WHOLESALE / DRUGGISTS AND IMPORTERS / Druggists Sundries a Specialty. / Lynchburg, VA.
stamped in blue ink: JAN 2-1911
strother_03 This is a 2.75" x 5" card printed in black letters:
label: W.A. STROTHER, / WHOLESALE DRUGGIST, / and Dealer in DRUGS MEDICINES / Chemicals, Paints, Oils, Window Glass, / PERFUMERY and Fancy Articles / No. 126 MAIN ST. / LYNCHBURG, VA.
It also appears that someone wrote "J. Own Hanney" in red ink at the bottom.
strother_04 This is a 3.5" x 5.5" post card depicting Ninth Street in Lynchburg, postmarked 1906. I beleive the sign in the top left says "STROTHER DRUG CO / WHOLESALE DRUGS", but since it was cut off, I can't be sure.


1 Lynchburg City Directories for the years: 1875,81,85,87,90,97,99,1900,07-10,13-21,23-24,26-40,43,45-46,48-60
2 (one of the receipts above says "Established 1853", presumably referring to the original drugstore of D.R. Lyman)
3 Lynchburg Daily Virginian, 4-Jun-1855, p.3 (New Concern ... Strother & Whitehead)
4 Lynchburg Daily Virginian, 30-Jun-1857, p.3 (Notice: The concern of Strother & Whitehead...)
5 Lynchburg Daily Virginian, 8-Jul-1857, p.4 (ad for W.A. Strother at Bank Square)
6 Daily Republican, 12-May-1863, p.2 (Last ad I found for W.A. Strother & Co)
7 Daily Republican, 20-Jul-1865, p.1 (First ad after 1857 that I found for W.A. Strother without "& Co")
8 Richmond Dispatch, 27-Oct-1885, p.5 (Explosion and Fire in Lynchburg)
9 Find-a-grave entry for William Alexander Strother
10 The Times (Richmond VA), 2-Aug-1892, p.2 (obituary for W.A. Strother)
11 Lynchburg Daily Virginian, 22-Jul-1857, p.3 (New Firm...)
12 Find-a-grave entry for William Mitchell Strother
13 Find-a-grave entry for William Bruce Penick
14 Appomattox and Buckingham Times, 8-Apr-1908, p.7 "Ad for The Central Pharmacy / Strother Drug Co"


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This page last updated on February 19, 2025.