J. R. Watkins Medical Company

Creator: Kate Roberts

Contributor: Minnesota Historical Society Press

Source: Minnesota 150 (F606 .R63 2007)

J.R. Watkins Company, Winona. Administration building in foreground, c.1945.

"If not fully satisfied, your money cheerfully refunded." We take statements like this for granted today, but when twenty-eight-year-old entrepreneur Joseph Ray (J. R.) Watkins of Plainview, Minnesota, put that message on a bottle of his Red Liniment, he was a trailblazer. In 1869, a year after Watkins first sold his patented combination of Asian camphor and red pepper extract, he bottled it in patented Trial Mark bottles, which showed how much of a product could be used before returned for a refund.

The secret to Watkins's success lay not only in his money-back guarantee but also in his sales force, a well-trained, highly motivated bunch that sold his products door-to-door. In 1885, the rapidly expanding company moved its headquarters to Winona, Minnesota. Ten years later, the company expanded its line of natural remedies to include gourmet cooking items: vanilla extract, black pepper, and cinnamon. In 1913, Watkins went international by opening a branch office in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and within two years, it had become the world's largest direct-sales company.

By 1940, Watkins's 10,000 sales associates—more than those employed by the better-known Fuller Brush Company—were offering 200 products, including vitamins, herbal remedies, and a range of baking goods. In 1978, multimillionaire businessman Irwin Jacobs bought the company from the Watkins family. In the early twenty-first century, Jacobs's son Mark was president of Watkins, Inc., and sales were good. And what of J. R. Watkins's Red Liniment? It was still available, through the company's website as well as from sales representatives. It was still sold in a Trial Mark bottle.

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Roberts, Kate. "J. R. Watkins Medical Company." MNopedia, Minnesota Historical Society. https://www3.mnhs.org/mnopedia/search/index/group/j-r-watkins-medical-company

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First Published: July 27, 2011

Last Modified: April 10, 2025

Bibliography

Serres, Chris. "Winona's Watkins Takes Leap from Door to Store." Minneapolis Star Tribune, December 19, 2005.

Related Resources

Primary

J. R. Watkins Company. Better Baking. Winona, MN: J. R. Watkins Company, [1916-1918].

———. Labor Relations Contract Between the J. R. Watkins Co. and International Chemical Workers Union, Local No. 228. Winona, MN: The Company, 1948.

———. The Open Door to Success. Winona, MN: J. R. Watkins Company, [1914–1918].

———. Watkins Bookfax: A Book of Practical Pointers for the City, Town, or Farm Family. [Winona, MN]: J. R. Watkins Company, 1925.

———. Watkins Stock Raisers Manual: A Manual for the Guidance of Stockraisers, Breeders and Farmers. Winona, MN: J. R. Watkins Company, [1921].

———. Watkins Summer Time Catalogue. Winona, MN: J. R. Watkins Company, [192–].

———. Watkins Timely Suggestions. Winona, MN: J. R. Watkins Company, [1920].

J. R. Watkins Medical Company. Watkins' Almanac: Home Doctor and Cook Book. Winona, MN: J. R. Watkins Medical Company, 1907.

———. Watkins Spice Book. Winona, MN: J. R. Watkins Medical Company, [1912–1919].

Watkins, Inc. Cinnamon: The Watkins Kitchen Collection. Winona, MN: Watkins, 1995.

———. Watkins Heritage Collection: A Tradition of Excellence Since 1868. Winona, MN: Watkins, Inc., 1984.

Watkins Products, Inc. How to Use Spices. Winona, MN: Watkins Products, Inc., 1958.

———. Keeping House the Watkins Way. Winona, MN: Watkins Products, Inc., [1976].

———. Watkins, The Name Your Grandparents Grew Up With. Winona, MN: Watkins Products, Inc., 1980.

———. Watkins With Pride. Winona, MN: Watkins Products, Inc., [1974].

Secondary

Allen, Elaine. Watkins Cook Book. 5th ed. Newark: J. R. Watkins Company, 1945.

———. Watkins Household Hints. Newark: J. R. Watkins Company, 1941.

———. Watkins Salad Book. Newark: J. R. Watkins Company, 1946.

Frost, Julia Watkins. Annals of Our Ancestors: One Hundred and Fifty Years of History in the Watkins Family. Chicago: Privately printed, 1913.

Roberts, Kate. Minnesota 150: The People, Places, and Things that Shape Our State. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2007.

Rohowetz, Rochelle. "The Watkins Company, Past to Present." Chronicles 4, no. 2 (Summer 1985): 1–4.

Web

The Minnesota Institute of Arts. Unified Vision: The Architecture and Design of the Prairie School. Architectural Tour, Greater Minnesota, Watkins Company.
http://www.artsmia.org/unified-vision/architectural-tour/watkins-1.cfm

The Minnesota Historical Society's National Register Properties. J. R. Watkins Medical Company Complex.
http://nrhp.mnhs.org/NRDetails.cfm?NPSNum=84003940

The Watkins, Inc. About J. R. Watkins, History.
https://www.jrwatkins.com/timeline.aspx

Related Images

Thomas Brown, salesman for Watkins Company of Winona

William McAdam, salesman for Watkins' Remedies of Winona

C.A. Lawrence, Watkins' Remedies salesman

A.W. Jesperson, salesman for Watkins' Remedies of Minneapolis

J.E. Schroggins, salesman for Watkins' Remedies of Red Wing

Packaging Watkins Coconut Oil Shampoo, Winona

Interior view of the Watkins plant in Winona

J.R. Watkins Company, Winona

J.R. Watkins Company, Winona. Administration building in foreground, c.1945.

Holding Location

Minnesota Historical Society

Articles

J. R. Watkins Medical Company

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Replica of the old J.R. Watkins Wagons

Scene depicting an old J.R. Watkins wagon and salesman, c.1870.

Public domain

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J. R. Watkins Medical Company

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J.R. Watkins Company, Winona

J.R. Watkins Company, Winona, 1956. Photographer: St. Paul Dispatch and Pioneer Press.

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J. R. Watkins Medical Company

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Trading Posts and Big Boxes: The Social, Political, and Economic Importance of Minnesota Business

Turning Point

In 1885, J. R. Watkins Company moves from Plainview, Minnesota, to Winona, where easy access to both rail and water shipping lines allows the business to grow.

Chronology

1869

Joseph Ray (J. R.) Watkins bottles his patented combination of Asian camphor and red pepper extract in patented Trial Mark bottles.

1885

J. R. Watkins Medical Company moves its headquarters from Plainview, Minnesota, to Winona.

1913

J. R. Watkins Medical Company goes international, opening a branch office in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

1940

The company's 10,000 sales associates are offering 200 products, including vitamins, herbal remedies, and a range of baking goods.

1978

Multimillionaire businessman Irwin Jacobs buys J. R. Watkins Medical Company from the Watkins family.