The Rodgers Building, Housing Folkston Pharmacy, Has Seen Rich History, and Much More, Under Dr. W. D. Thompson.

Photo is of The Rodgers Building on Folkston's Main Street. Built by J. W. Rodgers at the turn of the 20^th Century, it houses Folkston Pharmacy. The Rodgers Building has had a rich, colorful past under previous operators.

Anchoring the corner of Folkston's Main Street and First Street is the Rodgers Building. J. W. Rodgers, a prosperous naval stores operator built the building just after the turn of the 20^th Century. Rodgers insisted the building be built of unique diamond-shaped concrete blocks. A special form was built to mold the blocks. Rodgers was that kind of a man. He wanted to be different, and he was. Early settlers tell of some of the antics in which Rodgers became involved. Once, he went to Fernandina Beach and bought a brand new automobile. When he got it to Folkston, it refused to crank. Rodgers, enraged, went inside his place of business, got a pistol and fired two shots through the radiator of his new automobile.

Rodgers was a benevolent man, especially when he got deep into his cups. The tale is told of his catching a train to Jacksonville to buy Christmas gifts for his family. On the return trip to Folkston, Rodgers is said to have had "one too many" and his benevolent side began to break out. He walked up and down inside the railroad passenger cars, giving away the toys and gifts he had bought for his family. Another trip to Jacksonville was worked in before Christmas. That time his family went with him to make sure the gifts arrived home safely.

Rodgers had run a livery stable just to the rear of his new building; where the Folkston City Hall sits today. He is reported to have amassed great sums of money from his naval stores operations and used much of that money to buy land, much near Boulogne, Florida.

Rodgers' building became the cornerstone of business in Folkston. In the 1920's Eustace Jones and his wife operated the ground floor as the Highway Café, the daughter of Charlton County Judge J. J. Stokes. A young daughter helped with the business, Lorena Jones. She became a Warner Brothers Starlet, went to Hollywood, and eventually married one of Hollywood's most powerful studio owners, Louis B. Mayer, one of the founders of MGM Studios.

That business, the Highway Café, was just one of a long string of businesses housed in Rodgers' building. Pete Stroup had his barber shop there through the years of the Great Depression. W. E. Gibson operated a General Merchandise Store from the corner quarters in the 1940s. Then Dr. William D. Thompson bought the building and decided to open his Folkston Pharmacy in the building. He had earlier operated his drug store just two doors down from the corner location. Stroup moved his barbershop and Thompson enlarged his drug store business, building a soda fountain with stools for his customers.

Dr. Bill Thompson, pictured, operated his Folkston Pharmacy there for decades. His term as Folkston Mayor moved the town forward, but only in the face of criticism of Thompson. Marion Wainright has operated Folkston Pharmacy since buying the business at Thompson's retirement.

Dr. Thompson was the son of the Coffee County School Superintendent. He and his brother, Jack, joined in operating the drug store. It became one of the most popular places in town for school youngsters who filed in after school to share a soda and relax from the day's studies. Many young students worked at Thompson's soda fountain.

In December of 1941, Thompson's Folkston Pharmacy became one of the places in town to get the latest war news as World War Two burst upon the world scene. Thompson brought his Hallicrafter short wave to the drug store, hooked it to a long wire antenna, and tuned in largely to the BBC to get reports of the conflict in Europe and the almost daily bombings of London by Nazi German bombers. Thompson bore a striking resemblance to British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. Many of the town's youngsters referred to him, out of his earshot of course, as Churchill. Thompson knew this, of course, but was rather flattered. Churchill was one of Thompson's heroes. His wife and daughters helped the druggist in the business.

Thompson served Folkston as Mayor during the time of the city's first water system. He had to endure the daily criticism of those who thought a city water system was unnecessary. Nevertheless, in the 1920s, Thompson and the Folkston City Council bought a used water tower from a Florida sawmill, moved it to Folkston and had it erected. That water tower is still in use today, overshadowing the Folkston City Hall. Thompson was a strong-willed man. When he set his mind to something, it stayed set. The flak from the town's first water system was amusing to Thompson.

On occasions, the animosity toward Thompson became humorous. While Thompson was Folkston's mayor, the town's only policeman secretly resented the strong-willed mayor. When Thompson opened his drug store in the mornings, often there was evidence that someone had relieved himself on Thompson's front door entrance. The pranks continued until finally, two men were hired to climb atop the Citizens Bank at night, which was just across the street, and find out who was doing the dirty tricks. The two spotted the town's policeman relieving himself at Thompson's front door. The two watched a second night: same thing happened. Thompson and his Police Chief had a man-to-man talk in Thompson's drugstore. The incident never reoccurred, but Thompson leaned that his police chief had opposed the town's new water tower and system.

Dr. Thompson, aging, retired from the pharmacy business in the early 1960s. His trademark, a Studebaker Commander automobile, drove away from the side of the drugstore where he had parked so often. 

Marion Wainwright bought the building and business, continuing to use the name Folkston Pharmacy in the busy drugstore. If the walls of that drugstore could talk, you would hear of full meals served in the Highway Café for 25 cents by the Jones family, or the anxious radio reports during World War Two, or perhaps conversations inside Pete Stroup's barber shop on the west end of the building.

Dr. Bill Thompson and his family became legends in their time. The old Rodgers Building must surely become listed on the rolls of historic buildings. Its history is rich.