The McGill Drug Store Museum,
and the McGill Club Saloon

The McGill Drug Store was an operating drug store from 1915 until 1979 when it was closed along with the town’s largest employer, Kennecott Copper. But the owner left its inventory in place, and it sat untouched until the mid-1990s. The working soda fountain was rebuilt with a unique terra-cotta tile bar after the original fountain was destroyed by fire in 1930. The McGill Drug Store is a time capsule; some of the products date as far back as the 1950s. All invoices and records of every prescription filled since 1915 have been maintained.
The McGill Drug Store Museum operates as an extension of the White Pine Public Museum. It is generally open to the public on weekends, but the local volunteers are willing to open it at other times by prior arrangement.

“Brand names whose luster faded decades ago remain on the store’s shelves. Tubes of Ipana toothpaste sit across the aisle from jars of Dippity-do, an industrial-strength styling gel used to hold woman’s hair in place several inches above her head. Customers purchased not only manufactured drugs but also home remedies and prescriptions, many of which were mixed in the store.”

McGill Club’s Veterans’ Wall

The McGill Club, with its entryway featuring a gallery of photographs of locals who served in the armed forces, is a community hub. The timbers of its massive bar enclosure were brought to the West Coast by a ship traveling around Cape Horn. It was installed in several other establishments before it made its way to the saloon in McGill. The owner of the McGill Club is working to preserve the history of this “company town” and its architecture.