A Pharmacy, Doctors Office, and Soda Fountain

Portal Georgia

The information on this structure from the Georgia Trust For Historic Preservation:

“Dr. Stewart, Portal’s first doctor, built this drugstore in 1907, a year before the town was incorporated. The small wooden building served as a pharmacy, doctor’s office and soda fountain over the years, and Dr. Stewart was known to do surgery in the back of the drugstore while his wife tended the soda fountain in the front. The drugstore also housed Portal’s first telephone, which was used for long distance calls, and served as the center of the community for many years. Though the drugstore closed in 1950, its interior remains largely intact. With medical books and instruments, stocked shelves and the soda fountain still inside, this is perhaps the most thorough and authentic example of an early community pharmacy in the entire state.”