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:

edwards_20 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.
edwards_06 This is a clear 5.2" bottle embossed:
horizontal: (RHE monogram)
vertical: DR. R.H. EDWARDS / PHARMACEUTIST / LEESBURG VA.
base: W T 10 & Co
edwards_01 This is a clear 3.5" bottle with a label:
label: CAMPHORATED OIL / FOR EXTERNAL USE ONLY / ... / EDWARDS DRUG STORE / PRESCRIPTION SPECIALISTS / LEESBURG, VIRGINIA
edwards_02 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
edwards_03 This is a clear 3.5" bottle with a label:
label: CARBOLIC ACID / 86.4% ABSOLUTE PHENOL / ... / EDWARDS DRUG STORE / PRESCRIPTION SPECIALISTS / LEESBURG, VIRGINIA
edwards_04 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



Other Items:
edwards_05 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 China King Restaurant in this photo, which was taken June 2012, is at 3 S. King Street.
"EDWARDS DRUG STORE" labels
edwards_07 This is a 1.25" x 2.5" label that says:
label: CALAMINE LOTION / ... / EDWARDS DRUG STORE / PRESCRIPTION SPECIALISTS / LEESBURG, VIRGINIA
edwards_09 This is a 1.25" x 2.5" label that says:
label: GLYCERIN / ... / EDWARDS DRUG STORE / PRESCRIPTION SPECIALISTS / LEESBURG, VIRGINIA
edwards_15 This is a 1.25" x 2.5" label that says:
label: AROM. SPIRIT OF AMMONIA / ... / EDWARDS DRUG STORE / PRESCRIPTION SPECIALISTS / LEESBURG, VIRGINIA
edwards_13 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
edwards_19 This is a 1.25" x 2.5" label that says:
label: CAMPHORATED OIL / ... / EDWARDS DRUG STORE / PRESCRIPTION SPECIALISTS / LEESBURG, VIRGINIA
"EDWARDS & SON" labels
edwards_08 This is a 1.25" x 2.5" label that says:
label: POWDERED ALUM / ... / EDWARDS & SON, Druggists / LEESBURG, VIRGINIA / ...
edwards_10 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 / ...
edwards_11 This is a 1.25" x 2.5" label that says:
label: CREAM TARTAR / ... / EDWARDS & SON, Druggists / LEESBURG, VIRGINIA / ...
edwards_12 This is a 1.25" x 2.5" label that says:
label: FURNITURE POLISH / ... / EDWARDS & SON, Druggists / LEESBURG, VIRGINIA / ...
edwards_14 This is a 1.25" x 2.5" label that says:
label: (SUN) CHOLERA MIXTURE, N F. / ... / EDWARDS & SON, Druggists / LEESBURG, VIRGINIA / ...
edwards_16 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 / ...
edwards_17 This is a 1.25" x 2.5" label that says:
label: POISON COMPLETELY DENATURED ALCOHOL / ... / EDWARDS & SON, Druggists / LEESBURG, VIRGINIA / ...
edwards_18 This is a 1.25" x 2.5" label that says:
label: ELIXIR LACTOPEPTIN / ... / EDWARDS & SON, Druggists / LEESBURG, VIRGINIA / ...


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 April 15, 2022.