![]() Today, visitors can take a guided tour and experience the historic space where occupied Alexandria came to shop. Enriquez for Visit Alexandria MEDICAL EXHIBITS:Īs an operating drug store during the occupation of Alexandria in the Civil War, the Leadbeater family sold medicinal remedies for the various diseases like smallpox and malaria that afflicted the local military and civilian populations. To learn more about the apothecary and the medicine you see in Mercy Street, explore some of the exciting events and exhibits featured throughout our city that wowed the stars of Mercy Street and inspired the show’s creators. Medicine & Mercy Street Inspired Experiences in Alexandria Barnes for Visit Alexandria, showing the medicinal jars left intact, like chloroform in the upper left hand corner. Extensive records of purchases can be seen at the museum, including those from the Washington’s and Robert E. ![]() Legend has it that Lee was in the Alexandria apothecary when he received orders to suppress the raid at Harpers Ferry. The apothecary not only served the Green family, but also Martha and George Washington and Robert E. Jed Foster would be getting their medicines and supplies. It is the site where Mercy Street characters like Dr. Though the apothecary is not seen in last night’s episode, it is where the real-life Green family shopped frequently before, during and after the war in addition to Civil War doctors and soldiers, who were known to stand in long lines waiting for cough drops. It remained open during the Civil War and was a busy hub in Alexandria at the time, understandably so. ![]() ![]() Images Courtesy of the Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary, showing not much has changed since the shop closedĮven if the word “history” has you falling asleep at your desk, you will be in awe of the Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary in Alexandria. The apothecary was operated by the same two families (the Stablers and Leadbeaters) for over 140 years after being founded in 1792, and was widely recognized as one of the oldest apothecaries in the nation. Enriquez for Visit Alexandria, Featuring PBS’ Mercy Street Stars Hannah James, Tara Summers and Mary Elizabeth Winstead at the Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary in Alexandria Stepping Back in Time at the Apothecary That Helped Inspire the Series Just to get to see a place like this that hasn’t been changed since the 1850s so we’re actually stepping into something that looks exactly like what it’s been like.” Learning how to do that on set, how to administer it, was such an interesting thing. Because that’s a thing that my character uses a lot on the show. “It’s really cool, particularly seeing the chloroform and ether is a really cool moment. Winstead herself was in awe, transported back in time, saying: More recently, the stars of PBS’ Mercy Street visited the apothecary, including Mary Elizabeth Winstead who plays Nurse Phinney. Thanks to rallying community members, the apothecary was quickly turned into a museum, which the Washington Post called “the finest collection of antique drug store furnishings and medicinal bottles in America” in an article from 1939. The Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary Museum continued to garner very famous visits, including one from Eleanor Roosevelt in 1942. The interior stayed intact as it had been during operation, with even the contents of the jars preserved. When the shop, which served as a cross between “CVS and Home Depot” according to museum curator Callie Stapp, closed in 1933, the door was simply locked. Keep reading to learn why the answer is an emphatic ‘yes’ and how you can explore more by visiting the sites in Alexandria that inspired the series.įans of Mercy Street can explore the Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary Museum, which feels more like a time-machine, where the real-life Green family frequently shopped in the 1800’s. After watching PBS’ Mercy Street, some of you are asking if that’s really what it was like during the Civil War, particularly in regards to medicine and medical treatments.
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