There have been lots of different kinds of businesses within the Blanche block over the years from Postal Offices to clothing stores to the old barber shops. We have purchased copies of the old Sanborn Fire Maps for the city but mostly they just name type of business in the block and not necessarily the names of the business itself. Also, not all the businesses advertised in the paper. And if they did for some reason they didn’t think they needed to say exactly where they are located within the advertisement. I guess during the turn of the century and prior to World War II the local businesses didn’t see a need to put that kind of information in their ads as everyone should know where they were located. Of course, any out-of-towners could simply ask at the hotel desk where something was located but that sure doesn’t help us poor historical researchers.
I specifically wanted to find references to the Young’s Drugstore that recently has been made more popular with the findings of Benny Smollack, a local plumber, who has been working inside the Blanche on it’s restoration since the beginning. He was very kind to come visit me here at the park so that I could take a few pictures of the things he has found and talked a little bit about how things were going at the hotel. It is truly remarkable that those small glass bottles have survived underneath that old building all these years. Some of them are even still intact. I am still researching when there was a fire on the north side where he stated he found the bottles. We found one reference so far:
https://swconlinestore.com/product/light-topaz-and-white-pearl-beads-butterfly-earrings/
Daly and Parrish Fire (Citizen Reporter July 24, 1903)
At about 8:30 Saturday night fire was discovered in the front interior of the story of Daly & Parrish, under Hotel Blanche, by passers by. An entrance was effected as soon as possible by Charlie Finely and Burnett Waugh, assisted by Joe Scarborough, who went in over the transom.
and we found the following news article about Young’s Drugstore:
Citizen Reporter – 06 October 1911
Messrs. Sheppard & Strange have moved their grocery business to one of the store rooms in the Blanche Hotel block, recently vacated by F.A. Crowder, where they will be pleased to meet and serve their friends and customers. They have only moved temporarily, however, and will occupy permanently the place now occupied by G.S. Young’s drugstore, as soon as vacated. Mr. Young will move to the new bank building.
The first 10 years of the Blanche there were quite a few businesses moving in and out of the building and the out buildings not connected to the main complex but still considered part of the Blanche. Among those were Young’s Drug Store but not the same Young who owned the dry goods store. We found the following listing of business moving in or out within the first 10 years: U.S. Post Office; R.W. Coxe -Blanche Saloon and Billiards prior to the county going dry about a year after the Blanche opened; Fred Cone’s Shoe Shop; Hick’s Barber Shop; Mrs. T.N. Milton-Millinery and Art Goods Store; J.A. Holloway’s Music Store; James Daly Co Dried Goods Shop; Southern Express Company; E.G. Rogers Millinery; Cotton Mather, Special Agent, New York Life Insurance Company; Hotel Blanche Cigar Store adding newspapers and magazines too; Lake City Pharmacy; F.A. Crowder Department Store; Markham Book Company; Mortimer and Graves Millinery Store; Miss H.A. Riley Millinery Store; and J.T. Hunt Fruit and Vegetables Store.
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