Bloodworth Drug Company

The store was started by Perry Franklin Bloodworth. Perry was born in Coopers, Georgia, a place nine miles out of Milledgeville, one time Georgia Capital. He had a brother, Grover, who lived in Perry briefly but went on down the state to Lakeland where he was principal of Lake Morton School for thirty years. After graduation from Pharmacy School at Macon, Georgia, Perry Bloodworth went to Moultrie, Ga., where he worked in Holmes Drug Store. He married the boss's daughter, Ella Holmes, and they moved to Perry in 1904 and opened Bloodworth Drug Co. store at the corner of Jefferson and Green streets.

Aside from the operation of his business, Perry was involved most actively in the First Methodist Church where he served in many phases of its work including Chairmanship of the Official Board. He was a charter member of the Kiwanis Club and he had the distinction of serving as president for three terms in succession. Since Mr. Bloodworth's death in 1941, the store has been operated by his son, James. He had another son, Franklin, who moved to Jacksonville. Mrs. Ella Bloodworth died when James was a baby and Perry married Miss Beulah Brannen of his boyhood home, Coopers, Georgia.

Except for two years at Emory Junior College and a tour of duty overseas during World War II, James has worked in the store. James father had a stroke during James second year at Emory. At the end of the term James returned to Perry and took over the operation of the store. James never returned to college.

Downtown Perry will not be the same with Bloodworth's gone. James Augustus Bloodworth passed away on Sunday, August 30, 1998 at the age of 79. Bloodworth's has operated in the same location since 1904. The store is closed and a white wreath is hung on the door. Many people are asking what will happen, will the memorabilia be preserved, and what will happen to the store?

Photo courtesy of State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory

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