Tanlac_advertisement_in_Atlanta_Constitution_1916-01-30

Zonite_advertisement_in_Atlanta_Constitution_1920-12-12

George Francis Willis (1880, in

Waynesville, North Carolina Waynesville is the county seat of Haywood County, North Carolina, United States. It is the largest town in North Carolina west of Asheville. Waynesville is located about southwest of Asheville between the Great Smoky and Blue Ridge Mountains ...

''Atlanta and Environs: A Chronicle of Its People and Events, 1880s-1930s'', Franklin M. Garrett, p.806
/ref> – July 20, 1932''Avondale Estates'', Terry Martin-Hart, p.60; year is corrected in an addendum later in the book
/ref>) was an American

millionaire A millionaire is an individual whose net worth or wealth is equal to or exceeds one million units of currency. Depending on the currency, a certain level of prestige is associated with being a millionaire. Many national currencies have, or ...

who made his fortunes with

patent medicine A patent medicine (sometimes called a proprietary medicine) is a non-prescription medicine or medicinal preparation that is typically protected and advertised by a trademark and trade name, and claimed to be effective against minor disorders a ...

Biography

Willis attended Bingham Military School in

Asheville, North Carolina Asheville ( ) is a city in Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. Located at the confluence of the French Broad River, French Broad and Swannanoa River, Swannanoa rivers, it is the county seat of Buncombe County. It is the most populou ...

, and later moved to

Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Tennessee River and had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division ...

, where he became involved with a patent medicine firm. Willis began to sell and promote the medicines. In 1913 he founded International Proprietaries, Inc., and made a fortune selling a tonic called Tanlac. Although chemists at the time branded it

quackery Quackery, often synonymous with health fraud, is the promotion of fraudulent or Ignorance, ignorant medicine, medical practices. A quack is a "fraudulent or ignorant pretender to medical skill" or "a person who pretends, professionally or public ...

, as it was simply fortified wine with herbs and a laxative, the tonic sold very well nevertheless. Willis sold his firm in 1922 but then made another fortune with Zonite, an antiseptic preparation based on

Dakin's solution Dakin's solution is a dilute solution of sodium hypochlorite (0.4% to 0.5%) and other stabilizing ingredients, traditionally used as an antiseptic, e.g. to cleanse wounds in order to prevent infection.Jeffrey M. Levine (2013): "Dakin’s Solution: ...

, widely used in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. In 1922, as head of its finance committee, Willis led a $2 million fundraising drive for

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Established in 1885, it has the lar ...

. Willis was also active in real estate development in the

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

area. Willis commissioned the 1917 Druid Apartments at the corner of

Ponce de Leon Avenue Ponce de Leon Avenue ( ), often simply called Ponce, provides a link between Atlanta, Georgia, Atlanta, Decatur, Georgia, Decatur, Clarkston, Georgia, Clarkston, and Stone Mountain, Georgia. It was named for Ponce de Leon Springs (Atlanta), Po ...

and

Highland Avenue Highland Avenue may refer to: Historic districts *Highland Avenue Historic District (Birmingham, Alabama), listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Birmingham, Alabama *Highland Avenue Historic District (Lexington, Missouri), liste ...

in Atlanta's Poncey-Highland neighborhood, now the site of the Briarcliff Plaza, Atlanta's first shopping center. In 1924, he purchased the town of Ingleside, Georgia, just east of Decatur and there built the new planned community of

Avondale Estates, Georgia Avondale Estates is a city in DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The population was 3,567 in 2020. It is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area and is near Decatur. History In the 1890s, lots were sold in the area, which was known as Ing ...

. The distinctive

Tudor Revival architecture Tudor Revival architecture, also known as mock Tudor in the UK, first manifested in domestic architecture in the United Kingdom in the latter half of the 19th century. Based on revival of aspects that were perceived as Tudor architecture, in rea ...

of the town was inspired by a recent trip that he and his wife had taken to

Stratford-upon-Avon Stratford-upon-Avon ( ), commonly known as Stratford, is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon (district), Stratford-on-Avon district, in the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands region of Engl ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. Willis sought input from internationally known city planners; Avondale Estates was the first documented planned city in the

Southeastern United States The Southeastern United States, also known as the American Southeast or simply the Southeast, is a geographical List of regions in the United States, region of the United States located in the eastern portion of the Southern United States and t ...

. In 1928 Willis introduced a new medicine, Sargon, and became president of the

Stone Mountain Stone Mountain is a quartz monzonite dome Inselberg, monadnock and the site of Stone Mountain Park, east of Atlanta, Georgia. Outside the park is the city of Stone Mountain, Georgia. The park is the most visited tourist site in the state of Ge ...

Confederate Monumental Association.

References

External links

"Sargon", Ray City (Georgia) history blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Willis, George Francis American health care businesspeople American businesspeople in real estate Patent medicine businesspeople People from Waynesville, North Carolina People from Asheville, North Carolina Businesspeople from Knoxville, Tennessee People from Avondale Estates, Georgia 1880 births 1932 deaths