By Jorge Battle
Skaneateles Village Historian
Drug stores, pharmacies, apothecaries are all places where medicines are manufactured and sold. Druggists, pharmacists, and apothecaries are persons who prepare and dispense drugs and medicines.
In the early days of Skaneateles, this type of business, the dispensing of medicines, was done by the doctor. Dr. John Snook and his son, John Jr. established a retail drug business in 1834. The business was located at (now) 62 E. Genesee St. now AristroCats & Dogs.
Snook sold the business to L.T. Bentley in 1860, who sold the business to H. E. Moore. In 1863 it was purchased by E. F. Barrow. In 1868 it was purchased by E. B. Stocking. The next owner was O. F. Sherwood in 1870. He moved the store to about 18-20 E. Genesee St. now the location of White & White Antiques.
In the 1870s, Dr. Charles Merrill, a rather large man, would walk the three miles into the village. He lived in the country. Dr. Merrill never carried a medicine bag. Although there were no pharmaceutical companies like Pfizer or Merck back then, he was not without medicines.
He often gathered herbs along his walk into the village. He would stop at an apothecary and pick up a number of two to four ounce vials. He would partially fill them with a simple syrup then searching among the shelves, he would put a safe drug and herb into the vials.
Some would be augmented with a coloring matter. When he was finished, he would place all the vials in the side pockets of his coarse cloth coat. He was now ready to meet his patients. He was best known for treating nervous disorders, most of whom he felt were suffering from imaginary complaints. If a patient approached him on the street, and told of all their distressful symptoms, Dr. Merrill would search his pockets for a suitable medicine. He would uncork the vial, sniff its contents until a correct one was found. This he gave to the patient, with exact directions on how to take it. Also instructing that no liquor, beer or strong coffee be taken along with the medicine.
In 1872, the drug store ownerships kept on changing. Sherwood sold the business to Lagrange H. Hollon who in 1874 turned the business over to his brother Henry who continued to operate it until 1912. The December, 1876 newspaper display ad called “Hollon THE DRUGGIST.”
It also stated “pure drugs and medicines.” They also sold “nice confectionery,” “anything in the line of fancy goods,” “nice stationery.”
The ad also listed “pure wines and liquors – for medicinal use only.”
A 1907 story in The Skaneateles Press states “H.W.Hollon will pay back your money if Pepsikola fails to cure your indigestion. Never in the history of this store, remarked the druggist to an interested customer, has there been so great a demand for a new remedy as there is just now for Pepsikola Tablets….Try it for ten days and if you don’t see a big improvement, step in and tell H.W. Hollon and he will hand you back your quarter cheerfully and without argument.”
An August 1912 story in the newspaper states that Henry Hollon who has conducted the old established drug store business in this village for the past two score years has sold out his business to Walter H. Patten of New York, who will take possession Sept. 1.
This store was back at what is now 62 E. Genesee St.
It is known to be one of the first stores to have a soda fountain. In 1926 Allie Hoffman purchased the business and moved it to the Hunt Block. 3 W. Genesee St.
In 1939, L. Bernard Davey, bought the Sherwood Pharmacy. In 1962 Davey purchased the Hoffman store. He combined the two stores in the Hunt Block at 3 W. Genesee St.
In 1963 a fire partially destroyed the Hunt block. This put Davey out of business for a few months. He moved into the basement of the Grange Hall. This building faced on State Street, now the location of the M & T Bank’s drive-up teller stations. Davey’s store entrance was from the parking lot driveway between the bank and the Masonic Temple. In 1965 he moved into the Schultz building on Jordan Street. (This is the present Town Office building.) Davey stayed there for seven years, until his retirement. In 1972 Davey Drug Store merged with the new Skaneateles Pharmacy.
This store was built in 1965 in a long vacant open space next to the four story Tucker Hardware building (now Fleur-de-Lis) at 24 E. Genesee St. (now Snow & Rose). This store closed in 1983 and moved into the Bridge Market Building at 14-18 W. Genesee (Valentine’s Pizza).
In 1870 Warren Wallace purchased and opened a combination grocery and drug store from local physician Dr. G. T. Campbell. His ads stated he was a dealer in medicines, paints, “oils, dye stuffs, tobacco, perfumery, snuffs, cigars, window shades. Cosmetics, and that prescriptions are carefully compounded and put up.”
Harry Wallace joined his father in 1910, separated the two businesses and took care of the drug portion. George Hahn, an Auburn pharmacist, partnered with Wallace to form Wallace-Hahn. It was located in the building of the former Riddler’s at 4 Jordan Street. (now The Local Branch). In 1908 it became a Rexall franchise store. It moved in 1913, to 36 E. Genesee St., now Drooz.
In 1940 Chester Hahn joined George Hahn to form Hahn’s Pharmacy. From 1946 to 1951 they had a soda fountain in the rear of the store, in front of a large window overlooking the Lake. In 1959 George Hahn was honored by the Rexall Company as one of the longest Rexall franchises. 1971 the business was sold to Richard Hahn and William Dwyer. Jan. 15, 1965 Hahn’s closed.
Jan. 16, 1985, Brooks Drugs, a New England based chain of 450 stores, opened a store at 27 Fennell St., (now the CVS) next to the former P&C Food store. They bought out Hahn’s and transferred all business and prescriptions to this new store. Both pharmacists from Hahn’s, William Dwyer and Richard Hahn worked for Brooks.
CVS took over the space from Brooks. In 2004 they asked to expand the store by about 1,000 square feet. They originally wanted to demolish the, the former P&C, and a True Value Hardware to build a new larger store on the site.
However, building’s owners, the Feldmans, had made other arrangements with Kinney Drugs.
There was concern that the village could support two competing, side-by-side drug stores. Directly across the street was The P & C Food and Pharmacy store. They had a small pharmacy in the store. In 2010, when Top’s Friendly Markets bought out the P & C, the pharmacy closed.
