a ‘discharge of the bowels.’ “Should a disagreeable feeling in the head be produced,” advertisements advised, “let there be no alarm, as the system will soon re-act.”
At a retail price of 75 cents each or six for $4.00, Dr. Richardson’s Bitters were a great success, bringing considerable wealth to the doctor himself. Luckily for his hometown, Solon O. Richardson was a charitable man. Like his friends and colleagues Lucius Beebe and Cyrus Wakefield, he was committed to supporting the worthy causes in his town. His financial support was instrumental in establishing many civic betterments, including, in 1851, the establishment of a local military company that gained renown as the “Richardson Light Guard.” He also, in 1869, furnished the brand new Wakefield Town Hall that had been donated by Cyrus Wakefield. A supporter of art, he commissioned two large portraits, one of George Washington; one of Cyrus Wakefield, to be hung in the Town Hall. He also dabbled briefly in the music business with his half-brother Nathan Richardson, but he abandoned this effort due to failing health.
During a social visit to the Main Street home of his good friend Cyrus Wakefield, just yards away from his own home, Dr. Richardson suddenly “was seized with apoplexy” on the evening of August 31, 1873. He died a few hours later, to the universal sorrow of the town. (In an odd coincidence, Cyrus Wakefield died – also suddenly – two months later.)
Solon O. Richardson’s name lived on in the regiment that carried his name and in two separate streets in his hometown (Richardson Street and Richardson Avenue); the beautiful, distinctive bottles created for his elixir are still avidly sought by collectors of antique bottles.