In 1875, William N. Orcutt purchased an apothecary shop located at 24 Main Street, Woonsocket from William J. Thurston. Orcutt also made this address his residence. He became a registered pharmacist in 1880 and dealt in the usual pharmaceuticals until 1884 when he began manufacturing his own ORCUTT'S SURE RHEUMATIC CURE. After a fair amount of success with his new product, he changed the name of the company to The Orcutt Sure Rheumatic Cure Company.

The cure was for internal use only, supposedly a cure all for rheumatism. It was touted as being a good remedy for neuralgia and sciatica, and was priced at $1.00 a bottle. In 1888, the company was listed in operation at 64 Greene Street which was also Orcutt's new residence.

In 1890, Orcutt moved to Providence where he took up a position as clerk (for another pharmacy?). Evidently he sold or simply closed the Cure company and went to work for someone else. A year later he became the manager of the Riverside Pharmacy which was located at 83 Manton Avenue in Providence. Orcutt died in the later part of 1891.