its existence.

The decision to close the Morristown factory was finally forced upon the
family, on May 15, 1959, by the death of William Henry Comstock
II--"Young Bill"--who had been president of the company since 1921.
Like his father, "Young Bill" Comstock had been a prominent citizen of
Brockville for many years, served a term as mayor--although he was
defeated in a contest for a parliamentary seat--was also active in civic
and social organizations, and achieved recognition as a sportsman and
speedboat operator.

[Illustration: FIGURE 28.--The packaging and office building at left,
depot in center, and Comstock Hotel at right. Canadian shore and city of
Brockville (location of another Comstock factory) in background.]

The actual end of the business came in the spring of 1960. The frequency
and size of orders had dropped sharply, although the names of many of
the old customers still appeared, as well as individuals who would send
one dollar for three boxes of the pills. These small shipments were
usually mailed, rather than going by express or freight, as formerly.
The very last two shipments, appropriately, were to old customers: One
package of one-dozen boxes of pills on March 31, 1960, to Gilman
Brothers of Boston, and two-dozen boxes to McKesson & Robbins at Mobile,
Alabama, on April 11. And with this final consignment the factory closed
its doors, concluding ninety-three years of continuous operation in the
riverside village of Morristown.

Very little of this story remains to be told. Mrs. Comstock became
president of the company during its liquidation--and thus was a
successor to her _father-in-law_, who had first entered the business as
a clerk, _119 years earlier_, in 1841. The good will of the company and
a few assets were sold to the Milburn Company of Scarborough, Ontario,
but the Comstock business was terminated, and the long career of Dr.
Morse's Indian Root Pills brought to a close. The few superannuated
employees were assured of protection against all medical expenses, by
the company or by the Comstock family, for the rest of their lives. A
few years later the associated Canadian factory standing in the heart of
Brockville was torn down; during its lifetime that community had grown
up around it, from a village to a flourishing small city. The buildings
in Morristown were sold to other parties and left to stand untenanted
and forlorn for years. The upper (packaging) building, from which the
recor