Museum exhibits shine light on quack medicines, Victorian etiquette

Three new exhibits are featured at the Jefferson County Historical Society, 228 Washington St.

"Nostrums of the North Country" will be on view through Tuesday, Sept. 30 and is sponsored by Samaritan Health System.

Some items in the exhibit date back to the late 1800s and through the height of the patent medicine industry in America, when quack medicines were unregulated.

Quack medicines, or nostrums, claimed to treat a variety of ailments from "female complaints" (unwanted pregnancy) to childless marriages, which Lydia E. Pinkham's Vegetable Compound claimed to cure.

The ingredients in most of the medicines were harmless and inefficacious vegetables or herbs, but some mixtures contained alcohol, narcotics or stimulants.

The display extends to the 20th century; a 1936 revision of the 1906 Pure Food and Drug Act outlawed the sale and production of patent medicines.

With that legislation, said Lenka P. Walldroff, LaFargeville, collections manager and curator for the Jefferson County Historical Society, the pharmaceutical industry took root.

The items on exhibit are from the historical society's archives and include products made in Watertown as well as some that came from Kingston, Ontario, and New York City.

The north country was very much involved in the manufacture of patent medicines, and one of the largest companies was based in the area.

W.H. Comstock Co. was the largest producer of patent medicines in the region and in the country. The company had sites for a time on each side of the St. Lawrence River — one in Morristown and one in Brockville, Ontario. Comstock produced Dr. Morse's Indian Root Pill, a "cure-all" that was purported to help cleanse the blood.

Some Watertown producers of patent medicines were W. Sawens & Co. and Van Wert Chemicals & Co.

Since few nostrums lived up to their claims, they relied on advertising gimmicks. The "Dr. Morse" who allegedly created Indian Root Pills, for instance, was probably a fabrication by the company to make the claims appear legitimate.

"The advertising industry originated from the patent medicine industry," said Ms. Walldroff. So for the exhibit, she chose to focus a great deal on advertisements used for the medicines.

She said it was interesting doing the research for the exhibit and seeing "all of the crazy things they thought they could cure."

Sears, Roebuck and Co., for example, had a product for "wayward husbands" that contained morphine and opium. "I guess that would keep husbands home," said Ms. Walldroff.

Ms. Walldroff has also put together an exhibit of black and white photographs taken throughout Jefferson County. The exhibit,"Snapshots: Jefferson County Through the Eye of a Lens,"will be on display through September. It includes a photograph of the Thousand Island Park Hotel as it burned down and one of the USS New Orleans in Sackets Harbor as it was being built.

A new display titled"Victorian Etiquette and Social Customs"will run at least until the end of the year. It covers the Victorian era, or the period beginning around 1837 and ending about 1901.

The exhibit includes dress forms displaying the various layers of undergarments worn by the typical Victorian woman. It also includes periodicals from the era that give strict and specific advice about manners and proper behavior.

"What I'm finding is that most people did not follow all these rules of etiquette. They were more like guidelines," said Christine E. Godfrey, Watertown, an intern at the historical society who set up the exhibit. Ms. Godfrey is a senior at SUNY Oswego with a double major in women's studies and history.

The display also includes calling cards, dance cards and photographs of Watertown individuals during the Victorian era.

Calling cards were left by visitors at houses when the inhabitants were unable to meet with them. Women would use dance cards at balls to write the names of the gentlemen who asked them to dance.

The Jefferson County Historical Society , 228 Washington Street, is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m Tuesdays through Fridays and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays. Admission to the museum and exhibits is free, but donations are accepted.

For more information, contact the historical society, 782-3491, or visit the Web site www.jeffersoncountyhistory.org.