By Shannon McFarlin News Director
Paris, Tenn.–A ribbon-cutting for a mural dedicated to the life and legacy of the late E.W. Grove was held Wednesday morning in downtown Paris.
The mural is the latest to be installed downtown as part of the Back Alley Paris project and was created by Paris Artist Dan Knowles, who designed and painted the other downtown murals.
Knowles thanked two people who helped him with research on Grove’s life which he incorporated into the mural: County Historian David Webb and Ray Harding.
Webb provided a short history on Grove’s life, noting his evolution from a local pharmacist to his development of Grove’s Chill Tonic which became a best-selling remedy for malaria and which at one point out-sold Coca-Cola. Grove made millions from the product and left an endowment to Henry County Schools and students which is still used today. He also founded the Grove Park Inn in Asheville, N.C.
Webb said quinine was the only known remedy for malaria and it had such a bitter taste that “some people preferred the disease to the medicine.” Grove formulated Grove’s Chill Tonic which diluted quinine with sugar, lemon and other flavors and it was sold world-wide.
The Paris Medicine Co. “became too big for Paris, Tennessee” and he moved the business to St. Louis. “Most people had these bottles of Grove’s Chill Tonic in their homes”, Webb said.
Grove became a millionaire before he was 44 years old, but had severe health problems himself which prompted his physicians to recommend he move to Asheville. Webb said Grove “fell in love with the area”, which led him to found the Grove Park Inn and one of the first indoor shopping markets there.
“But he didn’t forget Paris and Henry County”, Webb said, noting that his endowment of Henry County Schools allowed students to attend the high school free of charge. The Grove endowment continues to enrich the local curriculum and student opportunities.
Photos by Shannon McFarlin.