Featured Site

Our featured site in history is the Emrich Brothers Apothecaries, later known as the Emrich Drug Store. It was located at 118 Columbus Ave., on the west side, between Market and Water Streets, and operated from the 1850s until the first decade of the twentieth century. Born in Bavaria, James Emrich opened his store in Sandusky probably around 1853; his brother Phillip came to Sandusky and joined him in the business in 1863. However, Phillip died in 1876, of "hemorrhage of the lungs," at the age of only 38.
Here is a portrait of James Emrich, taken probably when he was in his sixties or early seventies (in the 1890s):


(Photo taken from the W.A. Bishop Portrait Photograph Collection.)

James Emrich ran his pharmacy for over fifty years, closing down the store only a few weeks before his death at age 80 in 1909. The Sandusky Library Archives Research Center possesses documents from the business, including ledgers from the 1860s and 1870s, and a folio book containing handwritten formulas for medicines and other products. Here is a sample of a page from one of the ledgers (notice the orders for whiskey for medicinal purposes):



You can find other life stories in the historical collections at the library.