Henderson’s Drug Store in downtown Glasgow announced it will close on Friday after 185 in business. Owner David Henderson wrote in a letter that he will retire after 50 years in the family business, the last four decades of which as owner.

“The economic realities facing independent community pharmacies today made it impossible to continue,” Henderson wrote in an announcement. He said persistently low and significantly below cost reimbursement rates imposed by prescription pairs have created conditions that are unsustainable for a single-location pharmacy in a small community.

“Few businesses can claim 185 years of continuous service—fewer still can say that journey was made alongside the same family and in the same community,” Henderson wrote. “We are deeply blessed and profoundly grateful for every family that has entrusted us with their care across the generations.”

Henderson said that at the close of business on Friday, all prescriptions handled at his pharmacy will be transferred to Sam’s Health Mart Pharmacy in Fayette. “I will be assisting in the transition and urge your consideration to support them with your patronage to maintain these critical pharmacy services in Howard County,” he wrote, noting the dangers of pharmacy deserts in Missouri. “The impact in rural areas is disproportionately high, and hopefully this trend will one day change.”

While one of his twin sons, Joshua, will become the Henderson family’s sixth-generation pharmacist, he will not go into the family business in Glasgow. Instead, he will begin his pharmacy career as a member of the United States Air Force.

“On a happy note, the pharmacist tradition in our family will continue. We could not be more proud of him,” Henderson said.