Medicines & More

Imagine buying medicines, medical supplies, toiletries, hardware, and farm items all at the local pharmacy. Folks in Alexandria, VA could shop for these items and more from the 1700s to the mid 1900s at the Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary. 

This early apothecary, now a museum, remains nearly the same as it did when it closed in 1933. We visited during a recent trip to Alexandria, VA. What's unique about the museum, is not only the variety of items, but its large collection of remedies and treatments. Most are still in the original containers with some exceptions as noted below.

Herbal botanical remedies have names that Harry Potter and friends would envy, dragon weed and snake root. And, back then, folks could purchase cocaine for pain relief and also heroin. While these drugs are not on display, they had been available at the time.

There are hand-blown glass bottles, medical equipment, a collection of archival journals, letters and diaries, prescriptions, formula books, orders and invoices with the names of famous customers: Martha Washington, James Madison, and Robert E. Lee.

This family business was operated from 1792 until 1933 by generations of a Quaker family. It represented one of Alexandria's oldest continuously-run businesses that combined retailing, wholesaling, and manufacturing.

Its founder, Edward Stabler, was a Quaker businessman, who settled in Alexandria after apprenticing in the apothecary business. He sold to city and country residents, local doctors and local farmers. Most remedies were made on-site using plants and herbs. 

Medical products could be found next to farm and garden equipment. Surgical instruments and dental equipment next to soap, perfume, mineral water, cigars, combs and brushes. No need to go to a hardware store as this apothecary business made and sold paints and varnishes too, as well as window glass.

By 1806, Stabler was traveling to Quaker church meetings throughout the region. His oldest son, William, ran the business, inheriting it in 1831. Keeping with the family-run tradition, he included his brother-in-law, John Leadbeater, a trained dentist. When Stabler died in 1852, Leadbeater purchased the business.

In 1865, the business operated by Leadbeater's son, Edward, supplied 500 pharmacies throughout the Washington, DC area.The company had 12 salesmen throughout Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina to promote its wholesale and mail order businesses and operated 11 buildings in Alexandria and a Washington office.

The turn of the century brought a faltering economy and later the Depression, which caused the business to declare bankruptcy in 1933, days before the death of owner, Edward S. Leadbeater, Jr.

The apothecary business closed and everything was left "as is." The second floor features a manufacturing room, where medicines were made for retailers and wholesalers. Like the main retail space, this space remains nearly untouched since the 1933 store closing.
Concerned citizens and the American Pharmaceutical Association purchased the collection and archives with private buyers saving it for historical purposes. The contents were purchased at auction by a Baltimore merchant who donated them to the Landmarks Society of Alexandria, which had purchased the building at auction. After an extensive renovation that re-stabilized the structure, the Landmarks Society donated the museum and contents to the City of Alexandria in November 2006.

The museum offers daily tours with hours depending on the season. There is a nominal charge due to ongoing costs associated with maintenance and operation. It's well worth a "look-see" if you are ever visiting the city.