Vernon Drugstore

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm just passing it along. The Vernon Drugstore. Wilbarger County.

And friend, if you want to talk about staying power, this is your story. This place started in 1882. Not in a fine brick building, not in a painted storefront with a hand-lettered sign.

In a dugout. A hole in the ground, more or less, doing the work of a pharmacy. That is where it began.

Now, by 1884 a proper first building had gone up, and it was doing double duty right from the start. Dr. H.

H. Rhoads was a co-owner, and he kept his office right there in that building. He would go on to serve as county health officer for forty years.

Forty years. Let that settle for a second. And while the doctor was seeing to the county's health in one corner, the very first newspaper in Wilbarger County, the Vernon Hornet, had its shop right there in that same building.

The drugstore, the doctor, and the newspaper, all under one roof. Out front, horse-drawn streetcars were passing by. That is the world this place was built into.

The present building went up in 1901, and it kept right on going. By 1958, the store filled its one-millionth prescription. One million.

And somewhere along the way, among all those customers who came through the door, was the first Anglo-American born in Wilbarger County. The oldest drugstore in the county, started in a dugout, and it outlasted just about everything that passed by those windows. That is Vernon, Texas, and that is a long run.

What the marker says

Oldest drugstore in county. Founded 1882 in a dugout. First building (1884) housed office of Dr. H. H. Rhoads, co-owner and 40 years county health officer. First newspaper in county, the "Vernon Hornet", had its shop in the store building. Passing by were horse-drawn streetcars. Present building erected 1901. Store filled its 1,000,000th prescription in 1958. Customers include first Anglo-American born in Wilbarger County. (Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, 1966.)