This small frame mercantile (store) with an attached former residence dates from the 1880’s. It has had multiple uses up to 1980 when the entire building became the Pickering Village Pharmacy.

Built for Thomas Dyke, a local merchant, its most prominent early occupants were Mr. and Mrs. Isaac Wise. During the 1890’s, they were involved in a variety of commercial ventures, including groceries, millinery (manufacturing of hats) and jewellery. Long-time residents of Pickering Village, they were active in community affairs. They are buried nearby in the Pickering Old Methodist cemetery on Elizabeth Street.

At one time, the store was also a tack and harness shop. In later years, the store side was used as the Pickering Village Public Library. Since 1980, in addition to being a modern pharmacy, it has also provided a unique service with its “compounding pharmacists”. They can offer a variety of “fillers” in medicines to address individual needs of their clients. It is most interesting, and delightful, to see modern science based in such a quaint old building.