Locally Owned & Operated!

While Dean and Krista have owned IHS for over 20 years, the beginnings of this hometown pharmacy can be traced back to 1909 when Bird Drug Company first opened its doors on North Broad Street right here in downtown Metter. George M. Bird graduated second in his class from the Southern College of Pharmacy in Atlanta with a degree in apothecary. After returning to his hometown of Metter, he also owned drug stores in Summit, Cobbtown, Collins, Reidsville and Register. In 1919, Mr. Bird sold half interest in Bird Drug Co. of Metter to J. Carl Eason, a local pharmacist. Several years later he sold the entire company to Mr. Eason, who then renamed it, Eason’s Drug Company. Mr. Bird then purchased Franklin Drug Company from Fagin Franklin, changing the name to Bird Drug Company.

When Mr. Bird retired in 1952, his son, George M. Bird Jr. continued to operate the store with Mr. Bird’s business partner, E. E. Fortner. After five years, the store was sold to Mr. Fortner who changed the name to Fortner Drugs. The younger Mr. Bird then opened Bird Drug Company on South Broad Street, right next to Trapnell Tomlinson Hardware Company. There it remained until 2001, when new owners Dean and Krista Stone relocated the pharmacy to its present location at 150 South Leroy Street.