W.B. Herring grew up poor. According to the book, Plant City: Its Origins and History, as a boy he labored in low-skill, low-status jobs trying to make money just to live. However, as an adult, he worked his way through a Chicago pharmacy college. Herring moved to Plant City in 1892 to establish his drug store. In 1907, in a fire that threatened to destroy the whole of Plant City, the first Herring’s Drug Store burned down. The same year, Herring replaced the previous, apparently highly-flammable wooden structure with the brick building that now stands at 102 S. Collins St.
Plant Citians regarded Herring for his high integrity, and then-modern approach to conducting his business. So, he gained a large number of customers and expanded further by opening a second drug store in another county.
W.B. Herring’s business success and reputation later elevated this former poor boy to the position of Plant City mayor from 1912 to 1913.
In 1900, Thomas Claire (T.C.) Maguire, M.D. opened a hospital on the second floor of Herring’s Drug Store. Both businesses operated together in the building. Dr. Maguire’s 10-bed facility served patients in Plant City for over 50 years. Even though it would signal the end of his hospital, Dr. Maguire lent energy to the formation and building of South Florida Baptist Hospital at 301 N. Alexander Street in Plant City. So much so that his name is listed on the cornerstone of the hospital as a member of its first board of directors.
A History Wall in the New South Florida Baptist Hospital shows a photo of Dr. Maguire along with the rest of the board of directors, L.H. Duyck, W.D. McGinnes, Sr., John R. Trinkle, and G.A. Leichliter, and, reads, “Decades of planning led to the opening of South Florida Baptist Hospital on December 29, 1953. Leaders within our community worked tirelessly to design a faith-based hospital that would support the health needs of Plant City’s residents….A Cornerstone plaque engraved with the names of the original board of directors honors their legacy of devotion to the hospital and the community. These leaders and others created a place for care, compassion, and healing for the community they loved.”
When South Florida Baptist Hospital opened it rendered Maguire’s hospital on the second floor of Herring’s Drug Store obsolete and it closed in 1954. Sadly, Dr. Maguire, who was born in 1881, died January 31, 1954 shortly after his hospital on Herring’s second floor closed.
Since 1999, the former Herring’s Drug Store has been the location of the Whistle Stop Cafe, where the food and eclectic interior have made the restaurant a Plant City icon. This establishment continues to contribute to the health and wellness of Plant Citians with its menu of several healthy items. Whistle Stop is run by Marti Lofstrom and her son, Jeremy. Their friendly service and good food gives customers a relaxing, wholesome environment to eat in, and the vintage decorations make it a fun place to visit.
So, the legacy of Herring’s building proved to offer health to the people of Plant City far beyond its original function as a drug store.