McGill Historical Drug Store Museum

The McGill Drug Store Museum is a former drug store in McGill, Nevada. It operated from 1915 to 1979. The store closed when the nearby Kennecott Copper mine closed down, with its entire inventory intact, including prescription medication. It has been re-opened as a museum with more than 30,000 items as well as prescription records extending back to 1915. The museum is a resource for investigators of retailing and historical pharmacy practices.[2]

McGill Drug Store
McGill Drug Store in 2010
McGill Historical Drug Store Museum is located in Nevada
McGill Historical Drug Store Museum
McGill Historical Drug Store Museum is located in the United States
McGill Historical Drug Store Museum
Location11 4th St., McGill, Nevada
Coordinates39°24′17″N 114°46′40″W / 39.40472°N 114.77778°W / 39.40472; -114.77778
Built1909
ArchitectNevada Consolidated Copper Company
NRHP reference No.97001301[1]
Added to NRHPAugust 17, 1998

History

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The museum was originally a drug store owned by the McGill Drug Company, who may have acquired the structure from another business, Steptoe Drug Company. Although the place primarily serves as a drugstore and pharmacy, it is also notable for its soda fountain, which remains in existence until now.[3][4][5]

The drug store became a museum in 1995, when the White Pine County bought the building from Elsa Culbert, who continued to operate the drug store and soda fountain with her husband, Gerald, and became the owners of the business starting from the 1940s. The drugstore stopped operating in 1979, when Gerald died, and many of the remaining items there were left as they were.[5]

Collection

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The museum is a time-capsule filled with relics throughout the 1940s to 1970s, including pharmaceutical products and medical equipment. It also retains many interior and exterior qualities dated to certain eras, from steel-based structures common in use during the mining era boom, to 1930-style soda counters.[3][5]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
  2. ^ "McGill Drug Store Museum". Great Basin Heritage Area Partnership. November 3, 2008. Archived from the original on May 24, 2008.
  3. ^ a b "McGill Drugstore Museum | Ely Museum". Travel Nevada. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
  4. ^ "McGill Drugstore Museum, Nevada". www.mcgilldrugstoremuseum.org. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
  5. ^ a b c James, Ronald Michael; Harvey, Elizabeth Safford (2009). Nevada's Historic Buildings: A Cultural Legacy. University of Nevada Press. ISBN 978-0-87417-797-8.
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