Willis Sharpe Kilmer - Floral Park Cemetery, Johnson City, NY
Posted by: 
ripraff
N 42° 06.400 W 075° 57.280
18T E 421068 N 4662060
"Marketing pioneer, newspaperman, and horse breeder...Kilmer was perhaps best known for advertising and promoting his uncle's Swamp Root patent medicine formula"
Waymark Code: WMQ413
Location: New York, United States
Date Posted: 12/15/2015
Views: 3
"He was extensively involved in real estate, owning a landmark 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 was the breeder of Reigh Count, 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."
Description:
"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."
Date of birth: 10/18/1869
Date of death: 07/12/1940
Area of notoriety: Other
Marker Type: Tomb (above ground)
Setting: Outdoor
Fee required?: No
Web site: [Web Link]
Visiting Hours/Restrictions: Not listed
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