Burlington Pharmacy
Burlington, New Jersey

     Located on the southeast corner of High and Union Streets, this building was constructed in 1731.  From 1770 to 1778, it was home to Isaac Collins, Royal Printer for the colony, who operated a printing shop on High Street.  A pharmacy has been in business there continuously since 1831, when druggist William J. Allinson opened his business there.

    A Quaker, Allinson was a close friend of the abolitionist poet John Greenleaf Whittier, who visited the pharmacy frequently, speaking against slavery from its doorstep.  Allinson's opposition to slavery was not a surprise as his grandfather had opposed it in the 1760s and 1770s.  According to local legend, the pharmacy's basement served as one of Burlington's stations on the Underground Railroad.

    The pharmacy was owned by Walter Anderson between 1924-1974 when it was then purchased by the Wheatleys who owned it until 1991.  Richard Kozlowski, the current proprietor, took over Burlington Pharmacy in 1991.  A pharmacist for thirty years, he recognized the historical value of the late 19^th century homeopathic medicines and early 20^th century patent medicines he found in the building's basement and saved them. He has graciously loaned them for public display for the first time as part of the current exhibit.       

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