Born in New England, Windsor P. Lyon was baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1832. He and his wife, Sylvia, moved to Nauvoo, Illinois, in 1839. Sylvia's parents also lived in Nauvoo. Her mother, Patty Sessions, was a famous pioneer midwife.
Windsor and Sylvia Lyon soon established a drug and variety store in a log building that also served as their place of residence. The log structure was replaced by the brick structure that still stands at 750 Hotchkiss St. in Nauvoo. The Lyons later left Nauvoo with the pioneers. Windsor died at Iowa City, Iowa, in 1849. Sylvia passed away in Bountiful in 1882.
Visitors today can “browse the shelves of an 1840s drug store and discover the inventory of a period business establishment, including medicines, textiles, hardware and household items,” according to information on lds.org.
Windsor Lyon, who practiced herbal and botanical medicine, grew a number of the plants and herbs in his inventory on his own property. Presently, nothing is sold at the store; items are displayed for historical insight only. However, it is of interest to many that some of the displayed plants and herbs, once used for medicinal purposes, were grown on the property by missionaries who now conduct the tours there.