Red Cross Pharmacy started as a single store owned by M. A. Brown located in the small river town of Miami, Missouri in 1854.
In 1879, the pharmacy was moved to Marshall, Missouri after a major fire wiped out most of the town. Shortly after the move to Marshall, Mr. Brown's son, M.A. Brown Jr., took over and owned and operated the store. The American Red Cross, which was established in 1881, was granted a congressional charter in 1905 which established rules under which three existing pharmacy organizations, one of which was Red Cross Pharmacy in Marshall, and several non-pharmacy businesses then existing in the United States, were permitted the continued lawful use of the Red Cross name and Red Cross emblem.
In 1919, Red Cross Pharmacy was purchased by a pharmacist named Grover Waters. After World War ll, Mr. Waters passed away and his son, George W. Waters, took over the family business. Mr. Waters, along with several others, owned and operated the pharmacy until B. David Hartwig, along with his brother, Steven E. Hartwig, purchased controlling interest in the business in 1971. Four years later, in 1975, a second pharmacy was opened in the Marshall Plaza Shopping Center and, in 1980, Sutter Drugs located in Salisbury was purchased. In 1988, to provide some diversification and to further meet medical equipment needs of existing patients, Heartland Medical Equipment, Inc. was established as a wholly owned subsidiary to Red Cross Pharmacy , Inc.
In 1998, Scott B. Hartwig, son of Steven E. Hartwig, and D. Matthew Hartwig, son of the late B. David Hartwig, joined the family business. That year significant growth came with the addition of Kearney Drugs located in Kearney, Don's Pharmacy located in Excelsior Springs and Starns Pharmacy located in Odessa.
Additional growth continued with the additions of Burkarth Pharmacy located in Warrensburg in 2002, a start-up pharmacy in Grain Valley, the purchase of Purcell Drug located in Oak Grove in 2003 and the establishment of a long term care pharmacy in Marshall in 2004.
Growth in other markets continued in 2007 with the acquisitions of Macon Pharmacy located in Macon, Preferred Pharmacy Services located in Higginsville, and Dunavant's Drug located in Fulton and in 2008 with the addition of Graham's Southside Drugs located in Harrisonville. The most recent pharmacies joining Red Cross Pharmacy , Inc. were Dryden Drug LTC Pharmacy located in Belton in 2010 and Good Neighbor Pharmacy located in Lexington in 2011.
Today, Red Cross Pharmacy , Inc. continues to operate as a closely held privately owned family business which consists of 11 retail pharmacies, 3 long term care pharmacies, and a home medical equipment company. As in the beginning, Red Cross Pharmacy has no connection or affiliation with the American Red Cross.
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