George T. Johnson purchased this drugstore on Main Street (Greenwoods Road) in 1876. It is said that when he came east from Texas, he had intended to go to Norfolk, Virginia, but when he arrived at Grand Central Station in New York City, he was mistakenly given a ticket to Norfolk, Connecticut. He stayed and operated the drugstore for over 60 years. He sold everything “from pocket combs to paint, from papers to plasters, from candy to cups, from lamps to liniment.” In 1906 he relocated to the Royal Arcanum building, and the former drugstore was remodeled into a private residence. It is still standing just north of the ambulance building. To learn more about businesses that once flourished on Main Street, visit the Norfolk Historical Society this summer. 

— Text by Ann Havemeyer
— Photo courtesy of the Norfolk Historical Society