24 Apr Schaefer Drug Store
A corner with a long history in the development of Huntington is the southeast corner of Jefferson and Market Streets.
In the 1840s a red framed store building sat on this corner belonging to Thomas Staily and was later purchased by Samuel Purviance.
The earliest known use for this corner was a post office with Tapley Gant as postmaster. He received the mail about twice a week in a bag, and the small amount involved was dumped into a little box for distribution.
It has always been referred to as the Drug Store Corner since “Blount and Brother” established a store there in 1862. Their advertising proclaimed items for sale from drugs to coal oil. Sometime later Dr. S.M. Blount engaged August Schaefer as his partner, and by 1865 the store was known as “Blount and Hoover”.
Progressing through the years following Blount and Hoover, it was under the name of “D.B. Hoover And Company” and still later, “Whitmore, Hoover and Schaefer”.
In 1886, it became “Schaefer and Schaefer Drug Store” under the ownership of Rudy and Marty Schaefer. F.S. Bash stated in one of his newspaper articles that the drug store used to be a place some of the old business cronies loved to spend evenings to tell stories and solve world problems. Rudy Schaefer once put a dead eight foot alligator on exhibition at the side of the drug store. This display drew many onlookers to view the remains. The store remained under this name until 1917 when it became known as the “Pioneer Drug Store” and continued as such until 1929.
In 1929, the “Meyer’s Drug Store” chain occupied the location until 1964 after which “Bob Miller Pharmacy” took over until 1990. This ended the 128 year drug store era for that location.
In 1993 thru 1994 the building was the home for a Floor decorating business.
Around 1999 to 2006, George Wintrode opened “George’s Dog House” with a 1950s style diner. Following the Dog House years the corner continued as a restaurant under the ownership of Rex and Sandy Baxter and soon after by Joy and Chad Pearson.
It presently is owned by Escobar Construction of Indianapolis as of 2010. It has been under remodeling, off and on, since that time with the prospect of becoming “The Crossroad Restaurant”.
Submitted by: Lowell Richardson-2017