Willis Sharpe Kilmer
Encyclopedia
Willis Sharpe Kilmer son of Jonas M. Kilmer and Julia E. Sharpe, was a marketing pioneer, newspaperman, and horse breeder. Born in Brooklyn, New York, he graduated from Cornell University
in 1890. Kilmer was perhaps best known for advertising and promoting his uncle's Swamp Root patent medicine
formula until it became a household name.
Dr. S. Andral Kilmer (1840-1924) developed the Swamp Root formula and began selling it around 1878. Three years later, Dr. Kilmer's brother Jonas (1843-1912) arrived from New York City to help run the fast-growing business. In 1892, Jonas bought out his brother and brought in his son Willis to direct marketing and advertising. Continued success led them to construct the six-story Kilmer Building at Lewis and Chenango Sts in downtown Binghamton, NY as their manufacturing and business headquarters in 1903. The Swamp Root formulation fell out of favor after the advent of the 1906 Pure Food and Drug Act
, which resulted in the federal government imposing testing and labeling requirements on a variety of products, including patent medicines
with dubious claims.
The decline in the patent medicine business led Kilmer to branch out into other businesses. He was extensively involved in real estate, owning a family mansion in Binghamton, NY, constructing the twelve story Press Building in downtown Binghamton as a home for another new business he created, The Binghamton Press Co., building several other less-prominent buildings in downtown Binghamton, and three racing stables and estates: Sun Briar Court in Binghamton, Court Manor
in the Shenandoah Valley
of Virginia
, and Remlik, on the banks of Virginia's Rappahannock River
. Kilmer's private yacht Remlik (the name being Kilmer spelled backwards) was purchased by the US Navy during World War I and converted into the USS Remlik (SP-157)
armed patrol vessel.
Kilmer died in 1940 from pneumonia
having amassed a fortune of some $15 million, mostly from the sale of the patent medicine
Swamp Root tonic, which is still for sale today. After his death, Kilmer was interred at a mausoleum in Floral Park Cemetery in the Binghamton suburb of Johnson City, NY.
, the winner of the 1928 Kentucky Derby
. He was the owner of Exterminator
, the winner of the 1918 Kentucky Derby and 1922 American Horse of the Year, and the breeder and owner of Sun Beau
, the largest money maker until Seabiscuit
in 1939. Both Exterminator and Sun Beau were elected to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
.
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
in 1890. Kilmer was perhaps best known for advertising and promoting his uncle's Swamp Root patent medicine
Patent medicine
Patent medicine refers to medical compounds of questionable effectiveness sold under a variety of names and labels. The term "patent medicine" is somewhat of a misnomer because, in most cases, although many of the products were trademarked, they were never patented...
formula until it became a household name.
Dr. S. Andral Kilmer (1840-1924) developed the Swamp Root formula and began selling it around 1878. Three years later, Dr. Kilmer's brother Jonas (1843-1912) arrived from New York City to help run the fast-growing business. In 1892, Jonas bought out his brother and brought in his son Willis to direct marketing and advertising. Continued success led them to construct the six-story Kilmer Building at Lewis and Chenango Sts in downtown Binghamton, NY as their manufacturing and business headquarters in 1903. The Swamp Root formulation fell out of favor after the advent of the 1906 Pure Food and Drug Act
Pure Food and Drug Act
The Pure Food and Drug Act of June 30, 1906, is a United States federal law that provided federal inspection of meat products and forbade the manufacture, sale, or transportation of adulterated food products and poisonous patent medicines...
, which resulted in the federal government imposing testing and labeling requirements on a variety of products, including patent medicines
Patent medicine
Patent medicine refers to medical compounds of questionable effectiveness sold under a variety of names and labels. The term "patent medicine" is somewhat of a misnomer because, in most cases, although many of the products were trademarked, they were never patented...
with dubious claims.
The decline in the patent medicine business led Kilmer to branch out into other businesses. He was extensively involved in real estate, owning a family mansion in Binghamton, NY, constructing the twelve story Press Building in downtown Binghamton as a home for another new business he created, The Binghamton Press Co., building several other less-prominent buildings in downtown Binghamton, and three racing stables and estates: Sun Briar Court in Binghamton, Court Manor
Court Manor
Court Manor is an early Greek Revival manor house and estate in Rockingham County, Virginia, located south of the town of New Market. With its stately manor house and prime location in the heart of the Shenandoah Valley, Court Manor has long been regarded as "one of the finest estates in the...
in the Shenandoah Valley
Shenandoah Valley
The Shenandoah Valley is both a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and West Virginia in the United States. The valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians , to the north by the Potomac River...
of Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, and Remlik, on the banks of Virginia's Rappahannock River
Rappahannock River
The Rappahannock River is a river in eastern Virginia, in the United States, approximately in length. It traverses the entire northern part of the state, from the Blue Ridge Mountains in the west, across the Piedmont, to the Chesapeake Bay, south of the Potomac River.An important river in American...
. Kilmer's private yacht Remlik (the name being Kilmer spelled backwards) was purchased by the US Navy during World War I and converted into the USS Remlik (SP-157)
USS Remlik (SP-157)
USS Remlik was a yacht acquired by the U.S. Navy during World War I. She was converted into an armed patrol craft and assigned to protect ships from German submarines in the North Atlantic Ocean...
armed patrol vessel.
Kilmer died in 1940 from pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
having amassed a fortune of some $15 million, mostly from the sale of the patent medicine
Patent medicine
Patent medicine refers to medical compounds of questionable effectiveness sold under a variety of names and labels. The term "patent medicine" is somewhat of a misnomer because, in most cases, although many of the products were trademarked, they were never patented...
Swamp Root tonic, which is still for sale today. After his death, Kilmer was interred at a mausoleum in Floral Park Cemetery in the Binghamton suburb of Johnson City, NY.
Thoroughbred racing
Kilmer was the breeder of Reigh CountReigh Count
Reigh Count was an American Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1928 Kentucky Derby and the 1929 Coronation Cup in England....
, the winner of the 1928 Kentucky Derby
Kentucky Derby
The Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses, held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race is one and a quarter mile at Churchill Downs. Colts and geldings carry...
. He was the owner of Exterminator
Exterminator (horse)
Exterminator was an American Thoroughbred racehorse and the winner of the 1918 Kentucky Derby, and in 1922 won Horse of the Year honors....
, the winner of the 1918 Kentucky Derby and 1922 American Horse of the Year, and the breeder and owner of Sun Beau
Sun Beau
Sun Beau was an American Thoroughbred Champion Hall of Fame racehorse. Sired by Sun Briar, his damsire was Fair Play who sired Man o' War. Sun Beau accomplished a great deal in five years of racing despite having eight different trainers....
, the largest money maker until Seabiscuit
Seabiscuit
Seabiscuit was a champion Thoroughbred racehorse in the United States. From an inauspicious start, Seabiscuit became an unlikely champion and a symbol of hope to many Americans during the Great Depression...
in 1939. Both Exterminator and Sun Beau were elected to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and trainers...
.