Arthur Morris’ Rexall Drugs store in Lewes
If these buildings look familiar, it’s because they’re still standing on Second Street in Lewes.
What is now Treasures at 116 Second St. was once the home of Arthur Morris’ Rexall Drugs store. Morris was a pharmacist and businessman in the early to mid 1900s. The store was eventually taken over by Everett Bryan, who was an apprentice of Morris.
Rexall was a chain of drug stores from the early 1900s until the 1970s. It was eventually pushed out of the market by discount chains like CVS.
In the upper right portion of this historic photo is the stone sign identifying the Masons’ Jefferson Lodge No. 15, which occupies the second floor. The brick structure was built by the Masons after a 1920 fire had destroyed their previous home on the same location.
Jefferson Lodge’s history in Lewes is traced back to 1849, when Lewes residents revived a chapter that originated in New Castle. To the left of Rexall Drugs is Vessels store, which operated for a long time on Lewes’ main street. That storefront is now home to Henlopen Trading Company. The glass block windows and street-facing display cases remain to this day.
