J.L. (Jake) Crider was the proprietor of a popular drug store in early Huntington. Born in 1852 in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Crider moved from there to Indiana, then to Huntington.
He opened his Crider and Brother Drug Store at 1034 3rd Avenue on March 13, 1873. It was housed in a brick, two-story building with a roof over the sidewalk. On top of the building was a large mortar and pestle with a sign reading “J.L. Crider, Druggist.”
The May 3, 1873, issue of the Huntington Argus newspaper advertised the store as follows: “On Third Avenue, between Tenth and Eleventh Streets, Crider and Brother, Crude and Concentrated Drugs, Patent Medicines, Cigars, Tobacco and finest Chemicals.”
Crider operated his drug store for 18 years. The name of his brother has been lost to history.
