Colonial Williamsburg Digital Library

DR. BLAIR'S APOTHECARY SHOP.
Colonial Lot #46, Block 18, # 5.
September 8, 1933

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Store standing on lot in 1719, used as an apothecary shop. In 1778 a brick store, the walls of the room in which the store was kept were of painted plaster, two back rooms and a stair were whitewashed, a chimney was altered, had a "pillared porch". Early Coleman photograph available.

DR. BLAIR'S APOTHECARY SHOP.
Colonial Lot #46, Block 18, # 5.
September 8, 1933

This lot was among the first in Williamsburg to be deeded. Its first owner was Dr. Archibald Blair, the apothecary who was given title to it on November 18, 1700. This deed described the lot as #46 on the town plan, bounded on the west by a lane, and having a frontage on Duke of Gloucester Street of 82 ½ feet and required that he build on the house within 24 months or the lot would escheat.

The lot apparently escheated as it was deeded to William Timson in 1715 with a building clause, with lot #47 and #323. He evidently erected buildings which he sold with the three lots in 1717 for £300 to James Sheild.

By some deed, perhaps one recorded in the General Court and subsequently destroyed during the Civil War, Dr. Archibald Blair again became owner of the property. In deeds to lot #47 the lot is mentioned three times as being "the store house of Mr. Archibald Blair", in March, 1719, in June, 1719, and February, 1721.

Very incomplete excavation of this section revealed a foundation west of the brick store and extending under it. This foundation may be of an early building built by Timson in 1717 but superseded by Dr. Blair's brick store building sometime later.

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Archibald Blair's property passed to John Blair senior and later to John Blair, junior. John Blair, senior, evidently was in partnership with John Prentis and other members of the Prentis family for a number of years and they carried on a merchandising business in the Brick Store. After the death of John Blair senior and John Prentis, the following advertisements appeared in the Virginia Gazette:

December 22, 1775.

THE surviving partners of Mr. John Prentis, late manager of the trade under the firm of himself and Co. earnestly request all persons indebted to the said partnership to pay their respective balances to Mr. Robert Prentis, the present manager; and such who cannot possibly comply therewith will think it but reasonable to close their accounts, by giving bond and security to
ROBERT PRENTIS, & Co.

(Virginia Gazette - Alex. Purdie, Ed.)

May 15, 1778.

TO BE SOLD, for ready money before the Raleigh door, on the 23rd instant, and to be entered on the first of July next, the store houses and lot in this City, late the property of JOHN PRENTIS & Company.

(Virginia Gazette - Dixon & Hunter, Eds.)

Robert Prentis as manager of the store and owner had a number of repairs made to it by Humphrey Harwood. This account follows:

1778 - June 30th.
	To mending Arch over back door 6/. & 1 bus Mortar 1/6. & labr 2/.
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July 26.
	To 8 bushs lime 6/. a 1/6. Hair 1/6 Repairg larthg & plasterg in Store & Painting wall 22/.
	To 300 4d Nails 11/3 & 2 days labour a 2/6 6/..........
August 27.
	To Whitewashing the 2 back Rooms & Stareway 12/.
Septr 26.
	To 2000 bricks at 55/. to 8 bushs of mortar 4/6 Laying a harth 5/.
	To Altering Chimney 10/. & 1 Days labour 6/.
Novemr 2.
	To 20 Bushs Lime 30/. & Carting a load of Sand 4/.
Novemr 5 .
	To 12 do 18/. 400 bricks 22/. & Carting a load of Sand 4/.
	To building a Chimney 60/. & 4½ days labour a 6/.
1779, March 11 -
	To 20 bushs of lime a 4/6, & underpining Stable 80/. & 3 days labour a 12/.
13--
	To 5 bushs of lime a 4/6. hair 3/. & do larths 4/. & puting up step to store 6/.
	To larthing & plastering nessacary House 24/. & 1 Days labour 12/.
May 19 -
	To 4 bushs of lime 24/. & underpining Paleing 60/. & 1¼ Days labr a 15/.
Novembr 18-
	To 80 bricks 24/. 2 bushs of lime 30/.
1783 - Janry 9th
	To pillering Porch 60/. & Labours work 15/........
	To a load of oat straw 30/ ........

(Harwood Ledger - B -19) .

On November 10, 1779, John Blair, Wilson Miles Cary and Robert Prentis for £1000 made the following deed to William Hornsby, the merchant:

Whereas the said John Blair for himself and as executor of his fathers estate, the said Wilson Miles Cary for and as one of the executors of his fathers estate, Robert Prentis for himself and executor of the estate of Mr. John Prentis, Were for themselves and -4- the aforesaid respective estates interested in a certain lot of ground in the City of Williamsburg denoted in the plan thereof by the figures [46] which said lot and store houses thereon were considered as part of the joint stock in trade under the firm of Robert Prentis & Company, by a settlement of the said stock made the 4th February, 1718.

And whereas, it has been agreed on by the aforesaid john Blair, Wilson Miles Cary and Robert Prentis, sole managers and directors of the said Partnership, to dissolve the same, and in order to close the account thereof it became necessary to make sale of the said lot, the same was accordingly advertised in the Gazette, and sold to Robert Prentis the highest bidder for the sum of 1000 pounds.

Now this indenture witnesseth, that the parties of the first part grant, bargain sell unto the said William Hornsby … the lot and storehouse above mentioned with all appurtenances whatsoever to the same belonging.

(York County, Virginia -Book VI Deeds - page 79) .

Hornsby apparently did not complete the payments on the property and it remained charged to Robert Prentis in the tax books in 1809 it was sold to Robert H. Warburton by William Prentis. After Warburton's death the property became involved in the settlement of his estate and came into the divided ownership of the Drummond family. (Augustine Drummond being a half-brother to Warburton). It was finally sold to William H. Lee by Cary Drummond in 1819. In 1830 William Lee built a new building on the lot which was assessed at $225 by the tax assessors, -5- this may have been in the rear of the property or west of it. In 1841 Lee sold the lot and two buildings to Millington and Griffin and in 1847 John Millington bought Griffin's interest. After Millington left Williamsburg he continued to own the property. In 1856 Doctor Edward Camm bought the part of the lot between the Ludwell-Paradise house and the brick shop and erected an apothecary shop. In the early photographs in the Coleman collection a small frame building with dormer windows is shown (probably erected by Lee in 1850.) and the larger building erected by Dr. Camm in 1856 immediately adjoins the brick shop.

The steps on the old foundation between the Ludwell-Paradise house and the brick shop come within a few inches of the western wall of the brick shop and indicate that this building may be earlier than the brick shop.

Dating this building and determining whether it, or the old foundations west of the building, is Blair's apothecary shop would be a matter for archaeological evidence.