Cummings & Mckinney / F. P. Cummings Bottler

Francis Patrick Cummings was a wholesale and retail druggist located on Centre Street and was advertised as the "Headquarters for Patent Medicines".(1) In fact Cummings had trademarked “Cummings Blood Cure” on November 14th 1893.(3) Dr. William A. McKinney was a physician & Surgeon for the Southwest Virginia Improvement Company in Pocahontas, VA.(1) It appears that these two were partners in a bottling operation connected with Cummings' drug store. On the 1888 sanborn map there is a drug store located at 223 Centre street with a small building divided in half one side labeled Bottling Works, and the other Pump House. This Drug store was also in existence in 1893, without the detached bottling works building; however, I feel that this building is the building that housed F. P. Cummings' Drug store.

He was still producing soft drinks as late as late as 1898, and was distributing them via the railroad as I found mention of their Lemon Flavor being listed in the Annual Report of the State Board of Health of Massachusetts in that year. In the July 14, 1899 edition of the Clinch Valley News it was reported that two doctors opened a drug store in Pocahontas by the name of Central Drug Co., and were to open in the Zimmerman Building recently vacated by F. P. Cummings.(2) Francis Patrick Cummings had left Pocahontas for Roanoke where he started the F. P. Cummings Company to manufacture his patent medicines. The company continued to operate till around 1920.(4)

The 223 Centre Street location of F. P. Cummings' drug store with the bottling works being located around the corner in 1898.

Cummings & McKinney "Hutchinson" bottle which according to information on the glassmaker places the date around 1892-93.

1893 Receipt from F. P. Cummings Drug Store

F. P. Cummings Bottler "Tombstone slug plate" Hutchinson bottle

1895 Receipt from F. P. Cummings Drug Store

Ad for F. P. Cummings' "Wholesale & Retail Drug Store"

This page is only part of a much larger site. To see the rest then just click TAZEWELL-ORANGE.COM

Tazewell-Orange.com and the contents on this site are copyrighted by Joseph T. Lee III except where otherwise noted see Terms of Use.