Peoples Drug Store


Company Names, addresses, dates:
  Peoples Drug Store, 145 E. King Street, Strasburg VA (1916-2016)1

Notes:
Peoples Drug Stores was a chain of drug stores throughout Virginia. But Wikipedia says they were bought out in 1975, and somehow this Peoples Drug Store lasted until 2016.1
One of the bottles below says both "People Drug Store" and also "The Rexall Store". It's the only Virginia drugstore bottle I've seen that has markings for 2 different chains of drugstores.

Samuel Godfrey Good (1863-1951)2 owned the S.G. Good drug store in New Market. In 1916, he left New Market and came to Strasburg to open the Peoples Drug Store.3
He opened that store with J.R. Miller. In 1926, he sold it to G.E. Spies, but he remained as the manager until 1927. In 1927 the store was sold to C.E. Wightman, and in 1932 Wightman turned the store over to a trustee, who sold it to back to Good. 4

1932 is the first year where I saw an ad that referred to the store as "The Rexall Store".5

In 1943, Dr. George Emmart bought the store from Good, and Good retired to Harrisonburg.6
(I have not yet researched the store beyond 1943)


Bottles:
peoples_02 These are clear bottles. The left one is 4.5" (2 oz) and the right one is 2.8" (1/2 ounce). They are both embossed:
vertical slugplate: PEOPLES DRUG STORE / OUR MOTTO IS PURITY / STRASBURG, VA
peoples_03 This is a clear machine-made 3.9" tall (1 oz) bottle with white pyroglazing that says:
vertical white pyroglaze: PEOPLES DRUG STORE / THE Rexall STORE / STRASBURG, VA
peoples_04 This is a machine-made art-deco amber 4.8" tall (4 oz) bottle marked:
paper label: SATURATED SOLUTION OF / BORIX ACID / ... GEO. F. HENDLEY / J.H. SULLENDER / OWNERS / PEOPLES DRUG STORE / PHONE 29 STRASBURG, VA.
embossed on the rear: 3iv / Rexall / PHARMACY



Other Stuff:
peoples_01 This is a cardboard pill box, with a label that says:
PANALDIN COMPOUND. / 25c / PEOPLES DRUG STORE / PHONE 29       STRASBURG, VA.       REG. No. 3925
peoples_01 This is a photo from 2009 of the Peoples Drug Store in Strasburg VA.


1 Facebook page Peoples-Drug-Store-141505569200422 for Strasburg Peoples drug store
2 Find-a-grave entry for Samuel Godfrey Good
3 Northern Virginia Daily, 27-Dec-1951, p.1 (obit for Samuel G. Good)
4 Strasburg News, 6-Jan-1932, p.1 (Article: Dr. S.G. Good Buys ...")
5 Northern Virginia Daily, 20-Dec-1932, p.7 (earliest ad I found that refers to the store as "The Rexall Store")
6 Northern Virginia Daily, 5-Jan-1943, p.2 (Article: "Dr Geo. Emmart Busy Drug Store...")


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This page last updated on June 7, 2025.