The Niagara Apothecary
The business opened at the corner of Queen and King Street location in 1869 and operated until it closed in 1964. The Niagara Apothecary opened as a museum in 1971.
Before the Apothecary was on Queen Street, Rodman Starkwather established a pharmacy on Prideaux Street in 1820. A newspaper advertisement describes the store location as "The Niagara Apothecary at the Sign of the Golden Mortar opposite Smith's Tavern." Starkwather sold the practice to James Harvey in 1833, who operated the store until his death in 1851. Harvey is believed to have imported, from Britain, most of the containers in the Museum.
Henry PaffardNiagara-on-the-Lake Museum
Henry Paffard
Henry Paffard, who was an apprentice of James Harvey, officially took over the store in 1852. In 1860 he moved the practice to Queen Street and in 1868, after renovations, Paffard opened the store at its current location.
John De Witt RandallNiagara-on-the-Lake Museum
John de Witt Randall
Graduating from college in 1887, Randall became an apprentice of Paffard. In 1898, Randall took over the practice from Paffard, running the business until his death in 1914. He capitalized on the trains coming into town and sold train tickets.
Arthur James Coyne graduated from the Ontario College of Pharmacy (OCP) in 1909. Before taking over this store, he was already operating a pharmacy at 116 Lake Street in St. Catharines. "Coyne Drugs" was run from 1914 to 1922. Coyne is quoted to have said that he was “run off his feet in the summer and starved in the winter!” so it is no wonder that he branched out to other products to keep afloat. He sold gasoline, tobacco, Kodak supplies, and even did parcel pickups.
Apothecary images Erland Field in the ApothecaryNiagara-on-the-Lake Museum
Erland Field
Field apprenticed with Randall and graduated from the OCP in 1913. He enlisted in the Canadian Army Medical Corps during the FIrst World War. Field took over Coyne's practice in 1922. Due to his declining health, he closed the store in 1964.
Snow on the ApothecaryNiagara-on-the-Lake Museum
Niagara Apothecary Museum
In 1965, Field had made sure that the Niagara Foundation and the Ontario College of Pharmacists were given the first right to purchase the property. After its restoration to the earliest years of operation, it opened as a museum in 1971.
Apothecaries are the ancestor of modern-day pharmacies, hospitals, and liquor stores. Before modern medicine, apothecaries performed the duties of a general physician, surgeon, physiatrist, dentist, obstetrician, optometrist, and more. They offered products, like alcohol and drugs, that require an expert to compound. Apothecaries sold the ingredients for homemade remedies, as well as preparing goods, and herbal medicines.
Apothecary Label - Succinic AcidNiagara-on-the-Lake Museum
Succinic Acid
This medicine is listed as a poison because depending on dosage and long-term exposure, it can have negative effects. Succinic acid is used to target blemishes, heal scarring, and improve signs of aging. It works by peeling away dead skin cells to keep pores clear.
Apothecary Label - SulphurNiagara-on-the-Lake Museum
Sulphur Tonic
Tonic describes all sorts of concoctions that were supposed to make you feel better or livelier. Some tonics helped and some didn’t. Thanks to its antimicrobial properties, sulfur has been used for centuries to help treat skin conditions.
Rhubarb and names of compounds
Rhubarb is used for digestive complaints including diarrhea, heartburn, stomach pain, gastrointestinal bleeding, and preparation for certain GI procedures. A tincture is a medicine made by dissolving a drug in alcohol and a syrup is a liquid concentration of medicine in sugar.
Apothecary Label - Citrate of MagnesiaNiagara-on-the-Lake Museum
Citrate of Magnesia
This item is used to clean stool from the intestines before surgery and it may also be used for relief of constipation. Magnesia pulls water into the intestine so needs to be taken with lots of water. In a smaller dosage, it was used as a mild anti-acid.
Apothecary Label - Boracic AcidNiagara-on-the-Lake Museum
Boracic acid (also referred to as boric acid)
Boric acid in a solution contains antiseptic properties that help in treating minor wounds, are helpful in treating various types of ear infections and can help to treat odorous feet. This label has directions to use it as a mouthwash, an eye wash and to control perspiration.
Apothecary Label - Almond and Witch Hazel CreamNiagara-on-the-Lake Museum
Cream of Almonds and Witch Hazel
This was "an exquisite lotion for the cure of chapped hands, face and lips, and all roughness of the skin."
Witch Hazel has a history as an anti-inflammatory, topical extract useful for skin toning, cleaning, calming, and healing. It is still found in many products today.
