Robert W. Pope Drug Store
Date of photo is about 1883 - 1885
The Robert W. Pope Drug Store
on East Court Street was located on the lot across
the street from the current Beacon Newspaper office in
At the time this
photo was taken the building was the Pope Drug Store. One of the men in
the front of the store was likely Robert W. Pope. His children: Bessie in front of store - on
steps of house with mother Sarah Pope are Annie Pope (Diehl), Johnny Pope,
Mattie Pope (died as young child), Grace Pope (Parker) and one other.
John Ogden
speculates regarding the people in the photo:
“I would guess the
tall person standing in the back is a servant and the smaller ones around the
seated mother are the children. She
(tall woman standing back to left on steps) was not identified. I would guess Robert Pope is standing on the
street, and possibly the fellow seated is Edgar Armstrong, who worked as a
clerk in the store when he was in college studying to be a dentist. In the 1880 census Annie age 10, Bessie age
7, Mattie age 4, Grace age 1. Looking at
the age of Bessie who was identified as standing in front of store and the
census info, I would date the picture circa 1883-5.
John Ogden
provided the following items from the newspaper, the Spirit of Democracy (SoD), as further evidence of the date of the photo:
SoD, Tuesday,
August 8, 1876 - Mr. Robert Pope
will erect a business house on
SoD, Tuesday,
September 26, 1876 - Mr. Robert Pope is
having a frame building erected, which he intends for a Drug Store and
grocery. Helbling
& Stoehr are doing the work.
Provided by John Ogden
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