The Apothecary of Colonial Williamsburg

The colonial capital of Virginia, 18th-century Williamsburg was a hub of production and commerce, driven by specialized trades. While wheelwrights kept the colony moving and milliners defined its style, apothecary-surgeons served as the center of medical care for the community.

In large cities like London, medicine was broken into specialties. Physicians diagnosed and treated disease, surgeons performed manual procedures, and druggists sold remedies. In smaller urban centers like Williamsburg, these lines blurred. The apothecary had to master all three.

In Williamsburg, the apothecary functioned as the era’s true general practitioner, diagnosing ailments, compounding medicine, and performing surgery. In the 18th century, any manual treatment—even the extraction of a tooth or the cleaning of gums—was classified as surgery.

Partners from 1775–1778, Doctors William Pasteur and John Galt operated their apothecary (shown here) on the capital’s central Duke of Gloucester Street. From their shop, they sold medicines and provided medical care. Pasteur had practiced as early as 1760, while Galt continued until his death in 1808.

In colonial Williamsburg, entry into the apothecary trade required a formal apprenticeship. Men or boys learned the trade through hands-on training that combined the manual labor of a craftsman with the scientific study of a scholar.

Behind the counter, apprentices prepared medicines in massive batches, filling the large jars that lined the shelves. They followed standard recipes from official books used by apothecaries called pharmacopoeias and dispensatories.

Virginians grew plants in their gardens that were sometimes used as medicine, such as mint for stomachaches and turnips for coughs. While apothecaries offered the convenience of premade medicines, they also imported and sold ingredients that could not be produced in Virginia.

In the 18th century, the apothecary also sold raw materials. Customers could purchase individual ingredients over the counter, like myrrh, whale wax, or red lead, to take home and hand-mix into their own custom medicines, skincare, or other household recipes.

The reliance on imports from Britain became a liability during the American Revolution. To protest British policies, colonists arranged and enforced an agreement to stop importing goods from Great Britain. A 1774 intercolonial boycott agreement threatened supply lines and caused shortages for merchants and apothecaries alike.

On April 24, 1785, Dr. Galt was called to the household of Williamsburg resident William Moody after a mysterious nighttime accident involving four members of the Moody household. The incident resulted in a fractured leg, a broken hand, and dislocated arms.

To find the break, Dr. Galt could only use the tools available to him: sight, touch, and sound. He might have listened for the grating sound of bone scraping against bone. To fix the dislocated elbow, two assistants pulled the arm in opposite directions while the doctor snapped the bones back into place.

Plaster casts also weren’t an option—they were a 19th-century invention. Dr. Galt used splints made of pasteboard or wood glued to leather. For a broken leg, this meant six to eight weeks of absolute bed rest to ensure the bones knitted correctly.

Far from primitive or uninformed, 18th-century medicine was grounded in science. Colonial apothecaries were highly skilled, following medical standards from London's Royal College of Physicians and executing precise treatments.

Today, the Apothecary at The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation remains an active trade. A window into the past, modern tradespeople utilize period-accurate research and techniques to bring to life the science and skills of colonial medicine.