Dr. Hugh Mercer-Doctor and Apothecary
Dr. Hugh Mercer
He was born in Scotland but came to America and spent his life as a doctor and soldier. He joined the colonists in the French and Indian War and then again in the Revolutionary War. When he wasn’t fighting, Mercer practiced medicine on the western frontier and later in Fredericksburg, Virginia. While we were in Fredericksburg we visited Dr. Mercer’s office and I made some photos to share with you!
Step inside the apothecary and you step back in time. There is a ledger in the building that shows that many members of George Washington’s family were regular patients of Dr. Hugh Mercer.
The lovely concoction above was used to treat hangovers. Yuck!
These are just some of the herbs, spices and other things used to treat patients. The orange looking liquid in the white bowl on the right was a mustard plaster. It burned and raised blisters and was used for various ailments.
They also showed us a jar of leeches and a knife used for bleeding someone. This procedure was used on George Washington before he died by his doctors. If you want to read about the treatment he received (typical of his day but so barbaric) you can read about it here.
George Washington’s brother, Charles, was visited by Dr. Mercer many times for purges. I won’t describe that procedure to you!
We left the apothocary feeling very blessed to be born in this century! You can visit this fascinating tourist attraction in Fredericksburg, Virginia. There is a small fee but it’s well worth your time! Be sure and read my other posts about things to do in this area! You can read them here and here.
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Thanks, Veronica! Have a great week!
Hi Penny, It was a fun place to visit and I really enjoyed it! And I’m thankful we didn’t live back then too!
It was very interesting! Hope you get to go some day, Amelia!
This is just so cool!!! I would love to visit this place and learn more about how they used to treat things!
Oh wow! This is so fascinating (and scary!!!) As a writer of historical romance novels, this kind of information about days gone past is so intriguing. Although, I must say I am soooooo thankful to be living in present times! Thank you for sharing this with us, Teresa.
I would love to step inside the apothecary and step back in time! Awesome photos as always, Teresa.
Hi Pat, Yes that’s true! Thanks for visiting!
Thanks, Carol. It was so fun to experience!
You too, Karren. Take care!
Yes, so true!
Some of the stuff was really gross. You would have loved it. Lol
You too, Patrick. It was really cool!
What a super cool and wonderful place that I would love to visit. Thanks for sharing it.
Thanks for hosting and I hope that you have a wonderful week.
That was interesting especially the hangover treatment LOL
Have a herbalistictastic week 🙂
It’s amazing (and scary sometimes) what they could do back then (or what they did do!)
What fun place to visit, I love the old fashion apothecaries!! HAppy Monday!!
Fascinating post!
Such an interesting post, Teresa! It is so interesting to see what herbs and natural substances were used as medicines and cures back when our country was young. I believe that some are being revisited these days for their medicinal value.