Past Lane Plus is an extension of Past Lane Travels, a history/travel blog. Past Lane Plus features extra photos of historical sites that didn’t make it into the regular posts.
I pass the sign for the Country Doctor Museum in Bailey NC every time I drive South on I-95 and I finally took the time to stop.
This institution is the oldest museum in the United States dedicated to the history of America’s rural health care.
Created in 1967 by a group of women from North Carolina, its original intent was to build a lasting memorial for rural physicians.
The museum is made up of three buildings, two of which are original doctor’s office buildings. The first holds volumes of old medical books and a display of nurse uniforms, as well as a gift shop that has a wide variety of items.
Good Medicine?
Visitors will be amazed at the wide array of "medicines" and medical techniques that we now know are not safe or useful.
There is also a display of a typical country doctor's office and information on medical schools in the early days.
One of the most interesting parts of the tour for me was seeing how pills were made. The ingredients were mixed and then hand-rolled into a long slim cylinder before being placed on a piece of wood with slats.
A blade would come down and slice the cylinder of medicine into individual pills. This was the earliest "mass production" of pills.
There were also old instruments used for “bloodletting,” which was the most common medical procedure through the early 1800s.
The Sick Room
The Sick Room in the Country Doctor Museum was set up to show what a home might look like when having to deal with an ill person.
The display cases were full of remedies like "Mrs. Winslow’s Soothing Syrup." This medicine, which contained morphine and alcohol was used to relieve millions of babies of teething pain and diarrhea. It was widely marketed with images of contented mothers and their children.
Other galleries showed equipment and explained how doctors were trained in the 1800s.
Country Doctor Transportation
The Museum has a third building that contains early modes of transportation for country doctors that were actually used by doctors in the area.
From a saddle to carriages and early cars, the exhibit lets you see the details of these early modes of transportation.
The buggies were designed to be lightweight so horses could pull them for long distances. They also sat high so they could go over obstacles more easily.
This museum focuses on educating visitors about the contributions of country doctors, but it's done in a fun and interesting way. Kids won't know they're learning something, but they will remember their visit for the rest of their lives.