EDWIN WILEY GROVE TIMELINE |
THE FOLLOWING
TIMELINE OF THE |
| Edwin Wiley Grove Timeline 1850: Edwin Wiley Grove was born in Whiteville, Hardeman County, Tennessee, on December 27 1874: Grove came to Paris, Tennessee; became a clerk in a drug store for Dr. S.H. Caldwell and A.B. Mitchum 1877: Grove formulated Ferrine, a quinine product and a precursor to his famous chill tonic 1878: Grove developed Febriline, a tasteless quinine remedy 1880: Grove bought out Dr. Caldwell’s drug store and established Grove’s Pharmacy by 1881 Dr. F.F. Porter had his office in the E.W. Grove drug store 1883: E.W. Grove Druggist and Practical Pharmacist advertised in a Paris newspaper 1884: Grove’s wife, Mary Louisia Moore Grove, died in September and was buried in the Paris City Cemetery 1885: Grove formulated Grove’s Tasteless Chill Tonic, sold over the counter with half the strength of Febriline 1886: the Paris Medicine Company organized in Paris, with the help of local investors, for the manufacture and sale of Grove’s Tasteless Chill Tonic, packed and mixed in a 50 gallon steel drum with a hand pump attached; the offices were located on the west side of the court square on the second floor; Grove married Alice Gertrude Matthewson of Murray 1888: image of Grove’s Pharmacy in Paris appears on flier 1889: State of Tennessee issued a charter to the Paris Medicine Company on August 20; the company began to move its operation to St. Louis; Grove sold his home at 607 North Poplar Street in Paris 1890: more bottles of Grove’s Tasteless Chill Tonic were sold than bottles of Coca-Cola and the tonic was a household name for decades; the British Army made the tonic standard issue for every soldier going off to mosquito-infested lands; the Paris Medicine Company erected a building on Main Street in St. Louis 1891: Paris Medicine Company completed its move to St. Louis, Missouri; principal ownership remained in Paris; Paris Medicine Co. license to do business in the State of Missouri was issued on August 8; the company was advertising in a St. Louis newspaper by September 1893: the Laxative Bromo Quinine name was copyrighted 1894: Dr. Porter’s Antiseptic Healing Oil, developed in Paris, was acquired on January 29 by May, 1896, the Paris Medicine Co. had moved to Chestnut Street 1895: Grove visited Paris on December 20 and reported the Paris Medicine Co. as prosperous 1896: Grove’s Laxitive Bromo Quinine, the world’s first cold tablets, are released; the machine to make and count the tablets and fill the boxes was invented by Grove’s son-in-law, Fred Seely 1897: E.W. Grove visited Asheville, North Carolina, for relief of bronchitis and chronic hiccoughs 1898: E.W. Grove established a summer residence in Asheville on October 24; Fred Loring Seely married Grove’s daughter, Evelyn 1899: Pazo Ointment for piles was acquired on July 1 by 1900 the Paris Medicine Co. moved to Pine Street and became the largest consumer of quinine in the world; the company had branch offices in Toronto, Canada; London, England; Rio de Janiero, Brazil; Buenos Aires, Argentina; and Paris, France 1902: E.W. Grove made first offer to the Henry County Quarterly Court through O.C. Barton on April 9 to give $20,000 to build and equip a public high school; court rejected offer due in part to a smallpox outbreak in the county 1904: Grove made a $250 donation to the public library in Paris on January 9 1905: E.W. Grove made second offer to the Henry County Quarterly Court on July 3 to endow a free public high school in the amount of $50,000 that would earn at least $4,000 a year if the City of Paris and Henry County acquired the land and built the high school; the County Court voted 23-4 in favor of Grove’s proposal; Grove became the principal stockholder of the Atlanta Georgian, which later became the Atlanta Journal-Constitution; Grove formed the Fortified Hills residential subdivision in Atlanta; Grove began the Grove Park real estate development in Asheville and spent $100,000 to build one of the nation’s first motor roads 1906: E.W. Grove personally fixed the site for the Grove High School and convinced T.P. Jernigan to donate 17 ½ acres on Jernigan Heights (formerly known as McCampbell Heights, the highest point in West Tennessee, for the school’s campus; the cornerstone for E.W. Grove-Henry County High School was laid in a Masonic Ceremony on June 26 following a parade from downtown Paris and was reported as a great day for Henry County; the school opened in September in the City Hall’s library and council room until Grove Tower, the school’s first building was completed; the school was the first privately endowed public high school in Tennessee; Clovis and Ashley Chappell were brothers and the school’s first co-principals 1907: E.W. Grove provided uniforms for Grove High School’s first football team, the Chill Tonics, coached by Dr. Clovis Chappell; Barton Field was donated by Col. O.C. Barton by 1908 music, history, English, Latin, Greek, French, German, geography, geology, physiology, and physics were taught at Grove High School; the Hamilton Literary Society for the boys and the Elizabeth Browning Literary Society for girls met every Friday evening; the YMCA and the YWCA met each Wednesday and Friday afternoon by 1910 the Paris Medicine Co. produced the following products: Grove’s Tasteless Chill Tonic, Grove’s Chronic Chill Cure, Dr. Porter’s Antiseptic Healing Oil, Laxative Bromo Quinine, Grove’s Black Root Liver Pills, Grove’s Baby Bowel Remedy, Grove’s Worm Syrup, Pazo Ointment for piles, Grove’s Shave-Ease, Grove’s New Discovery for Catarrh, Grove’s Common-Sense Nasal Douche, Febriline or Syrup of Quinine, Concentrated Febriline, Grove’s Tasteless Quinine and Quionin 1910: Cavitt Hall, originally a girls’ dormitory, became the first addition to Grove High; the building was funded in part by Col. O.C. Barton and named for his wife’s family 1912: E.W. Grove visited the high school during Thanksgiving week and was warmly greeted by the students; upon his return to St. Louis, Grove sent a check to provide fresh fruit for the students; after a few years Grove stopped the apple money because the board of education used these funds to repair the road leading to the school; boys’ basketball begins; Grove’s Atlanta Georgian newspaper was sold to William Randolph Hearst 1913: Grove Park Inn in Asheville was dedicated on July 12 with William Jennings Bryan as the keynote speaker; Grove’s son-in-law, Fred Seely managed the inn 1915: E.W. Grove-Henry County High School was among the first educational institutions admitted to membership in the Southern Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools 1916: the cornerstone of First Presbyterian Church, Paris was laid; E.W. Grove paid for much of the building’s construction and a stained glass window, The Light of the World was placed in his honor 1917: Grove High School Principal Dudley M. Clements established the nation’s first vocational agricultural program under the Smith-Hughes Act passed by Congress on February 23; classes met in the basement of Grove Tower; the first funeral at First Presbyterian Church, Paris took place for Dr. S.H. Caldwell in 1917; friends worked all night installing seats for the funeral 1919: charter for The Grove Laboratories was issued in December 1920: Grove purchased the Manor of Albermarle Park in Asheville 1922: E.W. Grove bought the old Battery Park Hotel in Asheville 1923: E.W. Grove made his last visit to Paris during the city’s centennial celebration; Grove razed the Battery Park Hotel and removed a hill to make way for a downtown expansion of Asheville; by 1924 Cavitt Hall was converted to a home economics department and apartments for the coach and janitor; the basement continued to be used as a cafeteria until 1949 1924: Grove’s new Battery Park Hotel opened in September 1927: E.W. Grove died in his Battery Park Hotel in Asheville on January 27 and his death made front-page news in Asheville, St. Louis, and Paris; a memorial service was held in First Baptist Church, Paris; Grove’s funeral was held in First Presbyterian Church in Paris and he was buried in the Paris City Cemetery; Grove’s son-in-law, Fred Seely, sued the estate of E.W. Grove over the control of the company or a sizeable bequest after Grove’s death 1928: Gertrude Grove died and was buried in the Paris City Cemetery 1929: Grove’s final realized vision, the Grove Arcade (minus its planned 12-story tower), was completed in Asheville; the Arcade was likely America’s first indoor shopping mall 1931: E.W. Grove, Jr., proposed to erect several buildings on the Grove High campus as a memorial to his father; the building plans never materialized as he died in 1934 1934: Paris Medicine Company changed its name to The Grove Laboratories, Inc., in July 1937: a building housing a gymnasium and two classrooms was erected with WPA funds and labor 1940: the estate of E.W. Grove, Jr., gave Grove High School $10,000; a portion of these funds was used to repair Cavitt Hall after a fire three years later 1943: fire destroyed the interior of Cavitt Hall on January 27 1948: American Legion Memorial Stadium was built at Barton Field 1949: Weston Hall was completed and named for former teacher, Professor A.S. Weston who died in 1946 1952: The Grove Laboratories, Inc., name changed to Grove Laboratories, Inc., in August 1954: a field house was erected at Barton Field 1956: 50th Anniversary of Founding of Grove High School program was held in the gymnasium on April 27 1957: Grove Laboratories, Inc., and its subsidiaries acquired by Bristol-Myers Company on November 8 1959: Grove Junior High School was built to house grades seven through nine on the Grove High campus 1969: the last senior class graduated from Grove High with John Underwood as principal; a new consolidated high school, Henry County High School, opened on August 29 (long-range plans called for tennis courts and a swimming pool); Grove Junior High School remained on the campus 1980: Grove Tower was placed on the National Register of Historic Places 1985: after years of deterioration, Cavitt Hall was demolished 1986: Grove Tower was saved through the efforts of the Save the Tower Association and was the community’s major Homecoming ’86 project; the Tower became the home of the Henry County Board of Education 1996: E.W. Grove School became the nation’s first school for high school freshmen with a stand-alone campus 2000: the Grove and Seely families were reunited at Cavitt Place (built by O.C. Barton as his home in 1916), the home of the Paris-Henry County Heritage Center 2006: the Grove Centennial Celebration occurred on June 24 recognizing the 100th anniversary of E.W. Grove-Henry County High School (The School That Came From A Bottle), the construction of Grove Tower, and free public secondary education in Henry County |