One of the state’s oldest running businesses and a staple in town for generations of Summervillians, Guerin’s Pharmacy was honored with a historical marker and reproduction Thursday during a special ceremony at Town Hall.
“For all of you who grew up here in Summerville, we don’t have to tell you about Guerin’s, but for people who just moved here, after a couple of weeks we don’t have tell you about Guerin’s,” said Summerville Mayor Wiley Johnson.
He and other local officials spoke at the event organized by the Summerville Preservation Society.
The Summerville Preservation Society recently added a historical marker recognizing Guerin's Pharmacy long-standing presence in the community.
S.C. Sen. Sean Bennett offered his own personal memories of the 146-year-old business.
Bennett laughed as he reflected on the times his oldest daughter would go to work with him—his office not far from the pharmacy—and become bored not long after arriving. His solution? Send her over to Guerin’s.
“I’d give her a buck and tell her, ‘Go get a hot dog at Guerin’s,’” Bennett said.
Soon she started to ask her dad while they were still in the car to drop her off at the kid-friendly hangout before parking at work.
The legislator praised Guerin’s for being able to remain relevant over the years, keeping up with growth and its associated changes, yet staying familiar and attractive to all ages of customers.
“Guerin's really epitomizes what this community is going through,” Bennett said. “We have so much history here, and yet we have this growth and modernization going on around us. It’s a wonderful blend of deep community roots and the opportunities of the future. Outside, Guerin’s simply looks like an old building, but inside they continue to excel in modern healthcare. They’re the very best of old and new.”
Guerin’s board member Barbara Simmons agreed.
“Guerin’s has stayed fresh and popular; everybody loves it,” she said.
Even Simmons’ grandchildren, like many other local students, are drawn to the business after school hours for a snack and chitchat time.
“Every Friday their book bags are there (lined up) against (the building),” she said.
In addition to a plaque, the preservation society unveiled a panoramic painting of the corner of Richardson Avenue and Main Street—with a focus on the pharmacy as the center of community life during springtime. The artwork showcases a vibrant world of color and activity in a pre-World War II era, bringing to life the “charm, character and service” of Guerin’s, said local artist Yarboro “Yarbi” Winkle.
“I added a variation of tiny people and vintage motor vehicles to the scene so you might discover or visualize yourself, your children or maybe your ancestors in this work,” Winkle told Thursday’s crowd.
Dorchester District Two Superintendent Joe Pye with local artist Yarboro "Yarbi" Winkle, who painted the Guerin's Pharmacy rendering.
The former Dorchester District Two art teacher explained how her piece—the ninth in a series of historical Summerville reproductions the preservation society has commissioned—required much preparation, prompting her to research historic black-and-white images, study existing structures and gather data on other past local landmarks. Winkle also toured the town with Preservation Society President Heyward Hutson and listened to Barbara Dunning’s heartfelt memories of Guerin’s.
“It’s a little glimpse of the history that shaped the future of our people,” Winkle said of the painting.
Family ties
For current Guerin’s owner and pharmacist Barbara Dunning, Thursday’s event was an emotional one. She fought back tears of joy and gratitude as she considered her father—and former owner—Charles Dunning’s closeness with the community and his staff over the years. She said she assumed the role of owner after his death in 2015.
“Guerin’s has been around a long time. My father—Oh, he loved it,” Barbara Dunning said.
She said she was pleased to have one of her father’s first pharmacy students in attendance and explained how the woman first worked there in high school and later returned to serve as a pharmacist.
“A lot of people don’t realize...that a lot of people...worked there over the years. This is a testament to our longevity of employees,” Barbara Dunning said.
More than a dozen family members joined her and spoke fondly of the business and its impact on each of their childhoods.
“We wanted to be sure to be here,” said Ellen Dunning Stalvey, as she sat next to her sister Dottie Dunning Powell and their mom Patsy Dunning.
Patsy Dunning’s father Herbert Dunning was the first Dunning at Guerin's; he assumed ownership from Dr. Henry Guerin’s son Joseph.
“We have very fond memories of the drugstore,” Powell said. “I’ve been thinking about how when we were little girls, we would go to the pharmacy and have ice cream cones at the little tables.”
“Do you remember the little tables?” Powell said, turning and looking at her sister.
While the two sisters grew up in Georgetown, they often visited Summerville to see their grandparents—the trips always included Guerin’s visits with their cousins.
And it’s no surprise to the sisters that the business has thrived for so long—citing commitment to customers as one reason why.
“(Guerin’s) had such a good relationship with their (customers) that it doesn’t really surprise me that those relationships have been fostered over time,” Powell said. “It always seemed like a nice place for people to gather.”
Hutson said the society worked on the marker project for about six months. He said both the town and society covered the costs for the roughly $3,000 initiative—town officials agreeing to chip in $2,500.
Guerin’s is just one of “loads” of historical sites around Summerville, Hutson said, and beneficial to residents and visitors alike looking to learn more about the town’s earlier days.
The preservation society is also preparing to plant a historic marker for Pinehurst Tea Farm; two others are also in the works.
“We’re focused on the historical sites because they attract tourists,” Hutson said.
Guerin’s roots
In 1871 Henry C. Guerin, a Charleston-area physician and former Confederate Army major, founded the pharmacy as it’s known today.
However, the operation existed previously as Schweatman Drug Store and was located inside the home of R.W. Myers, according to preservation society historians.
Also owner of the Bank of Dorchester at the time, Guerin bought the drug store from the Schweatman family and moved the business to its current downtown location across from Hutchinson Square. The location was more than coincidence for Guerin since historians said he lived in a house—where he was also born and raised—next to the business.
Guerin’s son Joseph later joined the pharmacy in 1886 and was inside the business when the notorious Charleston earthquake struck that year.
The Dunning family’s connection to the business commenced in 1910 when Herbert Dunning started working as a pharmacist under Joseph Guerin. Dunning’s nephew Charles became a pharmacy delivery boy 28 years later and a pharmacist there in 1959. When his uncle passed, Charles Dunning purchased the business in 1975. After his death in 2015, his daughter Barbara Dunning assumed the role of owner.
Over the years, in addition to changes in ownership, the building’s physical appearance transformed. In 1895 the structure expanded to two stories, and brick was added in 1924, historians said.
Across the generations, Patsy Dunning said her family has boasted at least eight pharmacists.
