Ed. C. Des Rochers

07 Oct 2021, last revised 18 Mar 2026

Only one bottle is known for Ed. C. Des Rochers, even though he owned a drug store in Houghton for 17 years. He appears to have used mostly unembossed bottles, which was typical of pharmacies. He worked at the drug store under different proprietors for 19 years before becoming its proprietor.

Edward C. Des Rochers was born in Houghton on 31 Dec 1866 (12). His father was born in Canada and was of French descent, while his mother was born in Detroit, which is where they began a large family before moving to Houghton in 1862 (1). According to Des Rochers's obituary, he began working in the drug store in 1880 (19), which would have been at the age of 13. The drug store was established by Dr. Hafenreffer (3), who, in 1884, sold it to Dr. Maclane, who promptly sold it to Dr. Mason (16,17). Des Rochers completed his studies at the National Pharmacy Institute at Chicago in 1886 (1) and was listed as a pharmacist with J. P. Mason in 1887 (2). He resigned and planned to work for A. J. Scott in Hancock beginning around 01 May 1890 (15), but it is unconfirmed whether this occurred. The 1895 and 1897 directories list Des Rochers as a clerk for Mason (4,5).

Newspaper ad - Dec 1899

Newspaper ad - May 1906

After managing Mason's drug store for a number of years, Des Rochers purchased the store in Apr 1899 (7), marking the start of his own business. The 1899 directory describe the location as being on the north side of Shelden Ave., five units east of Isle Royale St. (5). From the 1905 directory, the address is listed as 60 Shelden Ave. (13). The 1908 Sanborn map shows that this was the same location, but the street addresses were re-numbered. In Nov 1910, Des Rochers moved the store from the Mason building to the Young building (3,18). The 1912 directory specifies the new location as 85 Shelden Ave. (14), which was on the southeast corner of Shelden Ave. and Huron St. The 1917 Sanborn map labeled this building as a drug store.

Sanborn map - Jun 1900

Sanborn map - Feb 1908

Sanborn map - Nov 1917

Polk directories up until the 1912 volume continued to list Des Rochers's business (14). Des Rochers's obituary stated that he retired from the drug store in 1916 (19). The 1916 directory then listed Houghton Pharmacy with L. A. Lundahl as proprietor at the 85 Shelden St. location (6). The U.S. Federal Census of 1920 listed Des Rochers's occupation as "druggist bookkeeper" and his industry as "candy factory" (9). He was then listed as a salesman for a paint company in 1930 (10) and retired in 1940 (11). Edward Des Rochers died on 23 Nov 1941 (19,20) in Houghton at the age of 74 and was buried in Forest Hill Cemetery, Houghton (12).

Given the long history of Des Rochers' drug store, a collector may wonder, how old is his bottle? Luckily, it bears the mark of SHELDON on its base, which signifies a proprietary bottle shape produced by Sheldon-Foster Glass Co. (8). Lockhart et al. (8) date this mark to c.1900-c.1907.

Citations

1. anonymous. 1903. Biographical Record: Houghton, Baraga and Marquette Counties, Michigan. Biographical Publishing Company. Chicago, IL.
2. Holland, A. H. 1887. Hand-book and Guide to Houghton, Mich. Mining Journal Book and Job Print. Marquette, MI.
3. anonymous. (1910, Nov 15). Pioneer druggist to move. The Daily Mining Gazette (Houghton, MI). p. 2.
4. R. L. Polk & Co. 1895. Houghton County Directory 1895-96. R. L. Polk & Co., Publishers. Detroit, MI.
5. R. L. Polk & Co. 1899. Houghton County Directory 1899-1900. R. L. Polk & Co., Publishers. Detroit, MI.
6. R. L. Polk & Co. 1916. Houghton County Directory 1916-17. R. L. Polk & Co., Publishers. Detroit, MI.
7. anonymous. (1899, Apr 07). Portage Lake news. The Copper Country Evening News (Calumet, MI). p. 3.
8. Lockhart, B., B. Schriever, B. Lindsey, and C. Serr. 2019. The Sheldon-Foster Glass Co. and related companies. In: Encyclopedia of Manufacturer's Marks on Historic Bottles. posted on Historic Glass Bottle Identification & Information Website. https://secure-sha.org/bottle/pdffiles/Sheldon-FosterGlass.pdf
9. U.S. Census Bureau. 1920 United States Federal Census. accessed on ancestry.com.
10. U.S. Census Bureau. 1930 United States Federal Census. accessed on ancestry.com.
11. U.S. Census Bureau. 1940 United States Federal Census. accessed on ancestry.com.
12. Michigan Department of Community Health, Division for Vital Records and Health Statistics; Lansing, Michigan; Death Records (accessed on ancestry.com)
13. R. L. Polk & Co. 1905. Houghton County Directory 1905-06. R. L. Polk & Co., Publishers. Detroit, MI.
14. R. L. Polk & Co. 1912. 1912 Calumet, Hancock, Houghton and Laurium Directory. R. L. Polk & Co., Publishers. Detroit, MI.
15. anonymous. (1890, Apr 24). About Portage Lake. Portage Lake Mining Gazette (Houghton, MI). p. 3.
16. anonymous. (1884, May 01). Local jottings. Portage Lake Mining Gazette (Houghton, MI). p. 3.
17. anonymous. (1884, Aug 21). Local jottings. Portage Lake Mining Gazette (Houghton, MI). p. 3.
18. anonymous. (1910, Nov 21). Houghton briefs. The Evening Copper Journal (Houghton, MI). p. 5.
19. anonymous. (1941, Nov 25). Edward Des Rochers, pioneer Houghton business man, dies. The Daily Mining Gazette (Houghton, MI). p. 10.
20. Michigan, Death Certificates, 1921-1952, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KFST-YKS, Entry for Edward C Des Rochers and Frances Des Rocher, 23 Nov 1941.