Wm. T. Wise


Company Names, addresses, dates
  W.T. Wise, Onancock, VA (1878-1936) 1,2

Notes:
According to the book, "A Century of Virginia Pharmacy", Wise's drug store in Onancock VA was established in 18553. But it wasn't called Wise's drug store until later, based on the information & references below.

William Thomas Wise (1853-1934)2 came to Onancock from Pastoria in 1866, and in 1868 he purchased an interest in the drugstore where he was a clerk. In 1878, he purchased the entire store1.

Advertisements in the Peninsula enterprise newspaper from 1887 to 1905 show that he sold a lot more than just drugs and other sundries you expect from a druggist. Items such as accordians, violins, school books, garden seeds, wall paper, and 1898 Crawford bicycles were listed.

In 1890, Wise moved into a new location that was described as "next to the post office"4. Subsequent newspaper ads describe its location as being on Main Street between the post office and 'Slocomb & Ames'. "Main Street" refers to what is currently called "Market Street".
In 1894, Wise installed a soda fountain in his drug store5.

In 1900, after a fire, Wise bought a lot on the corner of Main & North streets and erected a brick building to house his drug store6.
Based on a postcard that I saw on ebay, that building still exists, and is at the address "51 Market Street". A photo of that building is shown below, near the bottom of this web page.

Wise's obituary in 1934 described him as one of the oldest, if not the oldest, druggists on the eastern shore, at age 811.

Bottles:

wise_01 This is a clear 3.5" (1 oz) bottle embossed:
horizontal: 3 i
vertical in script: W.T. Wise / Druggist / Onancock, Va
wise_02 This is a clear 3.5" bottle with a label:
label: W T Wise / DRUGGIST / ONANCOCK, VIRGINIA. / 9919 Dr. Rosque / use as directed / 7-4-02


Other Items:
wise_03 This is a photo clipped from Google in January 2024. It depicts the building on 51 Market Street, formerly referred to as the corner of Main and North Streets. It appears to be unoccupied, but above the doorway it still says:
W.T. WISE / DRUGGIST


1 Virginian-Pilot newspaper, 6-1-1934, page 14 (obituary for W.T. Wise)
2 VA Death certificate 11652 for William Thomas Wise, b:01/19/1853, d:05/30/1934 in Onancock VA
3 Book: A Century of Virginia Pharmacy, published by VA Pharmaceutical Association, 1981 (page 126)
4 Peninsula enterprise newspaper, 10-18-1890, page 4
5 Peninsula enterprise newspaper, 6-30-1894, page 4
6 Peninsula enterprise newspaper, 1-13-1900, page 4


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This page last updated on January 16, 2024.