Alexandria's Old Apothecary Shop
[With the settlement of the Leadbeater estate in 1933, these two
adjoining buildings were acquired by the Landmarks Society of Alexandria
and the contents purchased by the American Pharmaceutical Association.
Under the direction of Mrs. Robert M. Reese the buildings have been
restored and opened to the public as a museum with displays generously
lent by the American Pharmaceutical Association. Entrance at 107 South
Fairfax Street.]
Among the Quakers who settled in Alexandria there was a young man by the
name of Edward Stabler, who came from Petersburg, Virginia. By 1792 he
had established himself in the drug business on Fairfax Street between
King and Prince. The major portion of his first stock of drugs came from
London and cost about L106. Today his shop is famous as the second
oldest apothecary shop in the United States in continuous operation and
has been conducted by five generations of Stabler's descendants, the
name of the proprietor changing to Leadbeater in 1852.
Always the proprietors maintained the most unique relations, business
and social, with their patrons. Extant today are orders for one quart of
castor oil from Martha Washington, an order for paint from George
Washington Parke Custis, and many other curious and historical records,
including the comments on a bad debt. In 1801 Mr. Stabler ordered from
his dealer in London:
One medicine chest, complete with weights, scales, bolus knives, etc.
I want this to be mahogany, of good quality as it is for the
granddaughter of the widow of General Washington, the cost to be
about 12 guineas.
[Illustration: Alexandria's Old Apothecary Shop, where Georgian and
Victorian meet]
There is a story in Alexandria that it was in this shop that the
messenger, Lieutenant J.E.B. Stuart, from the War Department, found
General R.E. Lee chatting with the proprietor, his old friend, the
senior Leadbeater, and delivered to the then Colonel Lee sealed orders
from General Winfield Scott ordering him to Harpers Ferry to take
command during John Brown's raid. It may be safely said that this shop
was commonly used as a place of meeting by the gentlemen of the town who
gathered there to exchange views and hear the latest news.
There remain in the old pharmacy early hand-blown bottles, counters and
showcases, weights and scales, mortars and pestles, prescriptions, old
ledgers, and much unidentified impedimenta of these early apothecaries.
The decoration of the interior is indicative of the five generations who
have lived and worked here. Georgian and Victorian blend in a harmonious
whole. The exterior has been admirably restored to eighteenth century
correctness--semicircular windows and all. The shop proper is the ground
floor of a three-story business structure. Adjoining is an associated
gift shop, also on the ground floor of a three-story building, and the
two structures must appear very much as they did when built.
[Illustration]