A piece of Dixon history: How Walgreens grew and how Dixon benefited

Editor’s note: This is the third installment of a six-part series about Charles Walgreen and Dixon. See parts one and two in our Nov. 1 and Nov. 15 editions.

DIXON – In 1904, Charles Walgreen chose his hometown of Dixon as the site for his second drugstore, the Walgreen-Davis Drug Store, located at 105 W. First St. Three years earlier, he had opened his first store, the Blood-Walgreen store in Chicago, where he and his wife, Myrtle, lived.

His new Dixon store was at the same location where Charles landed his first job as a drugstore clerk in 1891 at Horton’s Drug Store. Since then, the Dixon store had passed to C. C. Kelly, who sold it to Walgreen and his Dixon partner, Ross Davis.

The Dixon store advertised frequently in the Telegraph, as the store sold much more than prescription drugs. The Walgreen-Davis store also sold cigars, paint, fresh candies, soap, toothpicks, bug killer, “Hudnut’s Toilet Water and Cold Cream,” pocket knives and cut flowers, as well as tickets to Dixon-Sterling streetcar, the train and to the Barnum & Bailey Circus when it came to town Aug. 1, 1904.

[ A Piece of Dixon History: Charles R. Walgreen’s roots in Dixon ]

During these years, he and Myrtle also were busy raising a family. Their first child, Paul Olin, was born in 1904. Charles “Chuck” Jr. was born in 1906, followed by Ruth in 1910. Sadly, Paul died of an infectious disease in 1905. He was buried in Dixon, the first installment in Charles R. Walgreen’s new plot at Oakwood.

Walgreen operated the Dixon store only three years, selling it in May 1907 to C. M. Campbell, who then operated it as Campbell’s Drug Store.

“Occasionally in the early days, Charles bought a store, got the business going well and then sold it,” Myrtle said. He had done the same in Hot Springs, Arkansas, purchasing a drugstore in 1907 and then selling it in 1908.

[  A Piece of Dixon History: Charles Walgreen opens his Dixon store in 1904 ]

Acquisition fever

His passion for acquisitions ramped up in 1909, when he bought W. B. Valentine’s drugstore in Chicago, where Charles once worked as a clerk. Since he no longer had the Dixon and Hot Springs stores, he had returned to operating two stores.

The acquisitions continued, as he reportedly bought seven more stores in the next seven years. In 1916, when he finally incorporated as Walgreen Co., his nine Chicago stores were reported to have sold $270,000 worth of goods, or about $8 million in today’s money. By 1919, the Walgreen empire had more than doubled to 19 stores, all in Chicago.

In 1927, another sad event brought him back to Dixon. His mother, Ellen Walgreen, died June 4 at age 86. The funeral was in Dixon at the home of her daughter, Esther (Mrs. F. X. Newcomer), at 224 E. Third St., just a half block south of today’s Preston-Schilling Funeral Home. Ellen was then buried next to her husband at Oakwood Cemetery.

Still, the acquisitions continued in rapid succession. Throughout 1927, Charles was opening at least one new store every week. By May 1, 1928, he had 185 stores, with most of them in the Midwest. By the end of 1929, the Walgreens empire comprised 397 stores in 87 cities.

One New York analyst in 1929 attributed the company’s amazing growth to its efficient and courteous service, cleanliness, attractive displays, aggressive advertising and carefully selected locations. In spite of the Wall Street crash of 1929 and the ensuing Great Depression, the Walgreens stores flourished. In spite of a severe economy, Americans still needed their friendly efficient neighborhood drugstore.

1929: Walgreen buys Hazelwood

In their early married years, Charles used to say, “Myrtle, when we get $20,000 in the bank, we’re going to get a place in the country.” By 1929, that day had certainly come.

“He had his eye on a particular farm on the Rock River,” Myrtle recalled. That “farm” was historic Hazelwood, next to Dixon’s Lowell Park. The tract of about 150 wooded riverfront acres included a clearing of about a dozen acres atop bluffs overlooking a breathtaking view of Rock River.

After the Walgreen family’s first visit to Hazelwood as prospective owners, “We all voted to buy this farm and no other,” Myrtle said.

So, on Oct. 3, 1929, just three weeks before the historic stock market crash, Charles R. Walgreen bought Hazelwood from Dixon attorney E. H. Brewster. The Telegraph called the property “unquestionably the most beautiful spot in Rock River valley and in all the middle west.” The Walgreens planned to erect a summer home there.

Rich Hazelwood history

Shortly after the Walgreens purchased Hazelwood, “People came to share stories of the former grandeur which had once marked it,” Myrtle said. “We … were certainly made aware that we had taken on an inheritance important to the whole community.”

Indeed, the history of Hazelwood reached back to 1837-1838, when “Gov.” Alexander Charters bought the property from the government. He passed the estate to his son, Judge J. B. Charters. George Page, owner of Dixon’s Anglo-Swiss Condensed Milk factory (aka “Borden’s”), then bought it in 1890. Charles H. Hughes, who served as Dixon mayor and a state senator, purchased it around 1901 before passing it to his daughter, Mrs. E. H. Brewster.

From 1837 to 1929, the historic old estate had been host to many distinguished guests, such as the poet Margaret Fuller, writer William Cullen Bryant, Abraham Lincoln, Stephen Douglas and Gov. Frank Lowden. At one time, Hazelwood was the site of a meeting of the entire Illinois Senate.

As Hazelwood changed hands from the Brewsters to the Walgreens, the Telegraph reported, all were pleased that the new owners would “maintain the grand traditions of the place and make it more than ever a source of local pride.”

And they did. Money was no concern as the Walgreens invested in many renovations and improvements. Henceforth known as the Walgreen Estate, many more famous people would grace its cultured accommodations, such as entertainer Bob Hope; poet Carl Sandburg; Hollywood columnist Louella Parsons; aviator Jimmy Doolittle; explorer Rear Admiral Richard Byrd; and Ronald Reagan, who visited Hazelwood in 1931, 1941, 1950 and 1978.

In our next installment, we’ll uncover the background behind Dixon’s Charles R. Walgreen Field and several other ways that the Walgreens supported Dixon.

• Dixon native Tom Wadsworth is a writer, speaker and occasional historian. He holds a Ph.D. in New Testament.