Our third “Glimpse of the Past” with The Barton Chronicle showcased the only known interior photograph of the E. F. Dutton Pharmacy in Barton, Vermont. This building along with the Owen Store burned in 1885 and the buildings were replaced by the building we now call the Pierce Block.

The back of the photo is labeled “FDP” which I think stands for Fred Dutton Pierce. The image shows the interior of the Dutton Pharmacy around 1885 and the child is no other than Fred Pierce. Fred was the grandson of E.F. Dutton, and his father, Horace C. Pierce, was running the store. After the fire that claimed the building, the H.C. Pierce Pharmacy opened in the new Owen block, now known as the Pierce Block. Horace died in 1906 and the business passed to Fred Pierce who was already working with his father. The photograph was among the papers left by Fred Pierce when he sold the Pierce Pharmacy to the Ruggles family in the 1950’s.

This photograph was recently given to the historical society, along with many other items by Jack and Dorothy Ruggles. Jack’s father bought the Pierce Pharmacy back in the 1950’s and Jack continued to operate the pharmacy until 2000. It continues today as Kinney’s. It seems that Fred may have had trouble holding still for the photograph. The stuffed deer had no trouble keeping still.