Thomas Drug Store: History

On April 1, 1896, Frank B. Thomas opened the door to his new business in Meyersdale. Earlier, Thomas purchased a tiny apothecary shop near the corner of Main and Center streets. Four years later he bought a larger store, located at 134 Center Street.

By the time Frank B. Thomas Jr. graduated from the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy in 1925, F.B. Thomas Drug Store was by far the leading pharmacy in the area. The store continued to grow under Frank Jr., surviving the Great Depression and World War II. In the late 1920s, Frank Jr. built an addition to the rear of the store, nearly doubling its size.

In 1958, Adrian Thomas graduated from the Duquesne University School of Pharmacy and became the third generation of Thomases to own and operate the store. In 1983, the drug store expanded once again, this time into a neighboring building, increasing the store's size by nearly a third.

On February 27, 1992, Thomas Drug Store became world famous and Adrian a hero. He asked his employees to take the store’s entire stock of tobacco products, over $2,000 worth, into the back parking lot. He then ignited his tobacco-selling license and torched the enormous pile of cigarettes, cigars, pipes, and chewing tobacco. The story aired on television and radio stations across the country. From CNN to the New York Times, Adrian's action became widely known. The fire marked the end of an ethical battle for Adrian. How could any pharmacy treat medical problems in the back of the store and yet promote a sickness in the front? A drug store is a center of healing, not a source of harm.

Thomas Drug Store moved to a third location on February 20, 2000. Owners Adrian and Anna Ruth Thomas are settled into their new store at 327 Main Street.

Frank B. Thomas could not have known that 108 year later the pharmacy he bought would survive for four generations via two sons, Frank B. Thomas Jr. and Joseph N. Thomas, one grandson, Adrian Thomas, and two great-grandsons, Andrew O. Thomas and Alex J. Thomas. After 108 years of service and three locations within Meyersdale, the drug store is a Meyersdale tradition. "In the times of buying power and chain pharmacies, Thomas Drug Store continues to thrive," writes Kirk Swauger in a story about the pharmacy’s one-millionth prescription. "The personal touch is what keeps the family drug store alive." (Swauger, Johnstown Tribune-Democrat, 26 January 1997)

F.B. Thomas Drug Store, Inc. • 327 Main Street, Meyersdale, Pennsylvania 15552
Telephone (814) 634-8614 • Fax (814) 634-0827