With vintage decor and an old-fashioned lunch counter that’s served up hotdogs and cherry soda for over 60 years, Ashworth Drugs is like a time capsule from the 1950’s. In those simpler years before the boom at RTP, Cary was a sleepy little church town of only 2000 people.
“The town was empty during the day,” shares Ralph Ashworth, who has watched the town grow around his little soda fountain and pharmacy for six decades. “Everyone left town to go to work, and would come back in the evening.”
“In those days, this street was the center of the universe,” he recalls. “This was US-1, so anyone traveling anywhere from Maine to Florida would stop right here at this drugstore.”
Ashworth’s is more than a slice of classic Americana; it’s been a historic meeting place for Cary’s movers and shakers. Mayors, authors, historians, business-owners have all sat down at that counter and made plans for the Town of Cary over a cherry soda and a hot dog.
In fact, the footsteps of these historic moments are etched into the very floorboards of the Ashworth building. Hidden above the hustle and bustle of the pharmacy, a private antique staircase leads to a quiet second floor, with an unexpected story.
The Hidden Footsteps of History
Ever since 1931, this stairwell has been collecting stories from many of Cary’s leaders. Although the pale blue paint on each wooden board has been scuffed away by the footfalls of decades of prominent citizens, the original wood remains intact, with the historical architecture preserved. Like etchings of pictographs, these footsteps tell the stories of 88 years of Cary’s growth. This is the stairway of the Freemasons.
Nearly a century ago, Cary’s Masonic Lodge built the tallest structure in town, which would serve as their meeting place. They scheduled regular meetings on the second floor, and Henry Adams, another historic local, opened a pharmacy downstairs.
Cary’s Masonic Lodge, which is older than the town itself, held meetings above the pharmacy for decades. Month after month, dozens of important historic people walked up and down those wooden steps, leaving their mark on the structure — and on the city itself.
“Of the 26 men who have served as Mayor of the Town of Cary, 19 of them have been or are members of the Lodge. And many of them have served the distinguished office of Master of the Lodge,” writes Harry Holland, who compiled the chapter’s history on their website.
Other historically important surnames like Page, Yates, and Jones, all appear in the membership list. Holland continues, “These accounts give the names of many men who were influential in the growth of the town and its prosperity. Most of these same names will be found among the pages and records of Cary Masonic Lodge as some of its most active members.”
How many of our town’s founding fathers and influential leaders have walked on the staircase tucked away behind the pharmacy?
“Nearly 100 years of Masters and Masons walked here,” Ashworth muses. “These are their footsteps. A staircase to history.”
Cary’s Masonic Lodge – Older than the Town Itself
Cary’s Masonic Lodge was established in 1858, before the Town of Cary had officially been founded. In fact, according to Cary Through the Years, “their charter includes one of the first documented uses of the name ‘Cary’ for the community.”
Holland writes, “It started over thirteen years before the town was chartered and almost fourteen years before the first church. It served the town before it was a town and its members helped nurture it through the lean years.”
During the Civil War, the Cary Lodge vigilantly supported the community, gaining higher numbers of members and providing charitable relief for families whenever possible. The small community of Cary had several scares during the war, including a large march through our streets, which ended in a bloody battle just a few miles down the road in Morrisville. Later, the home of Cary’s founder was occupied by Union soldiers. It is noted that a week before the Union soldiers marched through, “A.F. Page made a donation […] for charitable purposes,” which seems to have gone towards helping widows and orphans who lost loved ones to the war.
The lodge’s original charter was lost in a fire set by Union troops; however, they rebuilt following the war, utilizing their influence and resources to help provide for the small Cary community.
From 1870 until 1931, they met in a building at the crossroads of Chatham and Academy, right across the road from the lot where they eventually built the pharmacy.
The Changing Face of Downtown Cary
“Eventually, “Ashworth shares, “The Masons moved to a new lodge off Maynard Road. Since then, the space upstairs has been a doctor’s office, a beauty salon, a studio, and now it’s office spaces.”
In fact, Ralph Ashworth’s grandson works right upstairs, where piles of boxes hold new merchandise, and the hardwood floors still bear the scratches and scuffs from nearly 100 years of history.
Ashworth recalls buying the pharmacy from Henry Adams in 1957. He and his wife Daphne were looking for a place to spread their wings after working for Johnson’s Drug Store in Downtown Fuquay. “It just so happened Mr. Adams’ son had gone to pharmacy school for one semester and decided not to become a pharmacist. He wanted to be an athlete. So Mr. Adams sold his store to us.”
“Cary was a sleepy little bedroom town then,” he recalls. “It was a big deal moving all the way to Cary because it was a long distance phone call from Fuquay. My family was a product of the Depression, and didn’t want to have to spend money on calls.”
“There were only two drugstores in Cary,” shares Ashworth. “Wayne Mitchell owned Mitchell’s Pharmacy. We’d collaborate, taking turns staying open on Sundays for customers.”
Today, Mitchell’s Pharmacy is a bottle shop, known as Pharmacy Bottle & Beverage, whose owner has tried to keep the history alive. That same spirit of collaboration, not competition, pervades the culture of Downtown Cary today.
“The Cary Theater has also transformed several times. First, it was a theater. Then, a clothing store. After that, it was an auto place for a while. Now, it’s a theater again,” recalls Ashworth.
Even Cary’s charming lunch destinations have unexpected roots in the community’s history. Serendipity Gourmet, for example, was once the town library.
“When Daphne and I first moved here, the town didn’t have a library. Well, I was in the Jaycees, and my wife was in the Jaycettes. Daphne worked together with the Jaycettes to collect books and start a little community library. It was right here in Ashworth’s Village, and as it grew, it moved into the building where Serendipity is now,” Ashworth recalls.
Sitting in the center of town for six decades, Ashworth and his old-fashioned lunch counter have played a large role in the growth and change of downtown. He’s watched people and businesses come and go. His sons and grandchildren have stepped up to take on the Ashworth’s mantle.
“I have two sons, six grandchildren, and four great grandchildren — so, the time’s moved on.”
But here at the Ashworth’s pharmacy and soda fountain, where the staircase and hardwood floors still have the imprints of history, you can still get a taste of the bygone days of small-town Cary.
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In the mood for a classic hot dog? Check out Ashworth Drug’s Website and Facebook Page!