Pharmacy

Mr. and Mrs. John Finley Johnson played in Fortville’s early growth and community life. Arriving in 1897, when the town had only about 1,000 residents and few modern conveniences, Johnson purchased the Fortville Drug Store and operated it for decades, offering goods from medicines to wallpaper and bicycles. A graduate of Ohio Northern University’s School of Pharmacy, Johnson quickly became a key figure in Fortville’s business and civic development, eventually building a new store in 1913. The Johnsons raised their family in town and became deeply embedded in its social, cultural, and religious life, leaving a lasting impact on the community’s progress and spirit of neighborliness. A photo from around 1912–13 shows the bustling drugstore, capturing a piece of Fortville’s history during its period of growth.