  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 £106. 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. shop 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. gardens |
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