11. The Old Drug Store

by

The Old Drug Store – 108 River St

Before becoming Sunderland’s drugstore, this building housed other businesses. A 1910 map shows a barber and tailor shop here, operated by Arthur Brether.

Before the First World War, James A. “Jimmy” Anderson purchased Harry Baldwin’s drugstore, then located in the McDermott Block on River Street. Anderson subsequently served overseas during the war as a member of the Medical Corps with the 182nd Battalion. After returning home, he moved his drugstore to this location and became Sunderland’s pharmacist.

From 1918 until 1948, Anderson’s Rexall Drugstore was a familiar part of village life. Saturday was the busiest shopping day, and the store often remained open until midnight. In addition to medicines and prescriptions, Anderson sold perfumes and toilet articles, Kodak film, Nielsen chocolates and Niles family remedies. Many of the bottles and medicinal items that once lined the shelves of the store have been preserved in the collection of the Sunderland Museum.

James Anderson died suddenly in 1948 while attending a local baseball game. His son Jack then took over operation of the drugstore, with Cliff Miller serving as pharmacist. Around 1959, Bud Green operated the business. The drugstore subsequently closed, leaving Sunderland without a resident pharmacist for approximately a decade.

During that period, George Tassey could sell over-the-counter remedies but could not fill prescriptions. In 1973, Mike Sheridan restored full pharmacy service to the community when he opened Sunderland Pharmacy in the building immediately east of the old drugstore.

The original drugstore building remained standing until March 2009, when it was demolished. The site is now a parking lot, but artifacts preserved at the Sunderland Museum provide a tangible reminder of the pharmacy that served the community here for decades.