If you want to better understand American history and the Revolutionary War era, a visit to Fredericksburg, Virginia, will net you a weekend or a week’s worth of discoveries.
One stop I made was at the Mercer Apothecary.
The mid-18th-century pharmacy was founded by Hugh Mercer. Here you will learn about Mercer and the medical practices of the 18th century.
In the first room, a colonial-dressed woman explained many of the ways Mercer and other apothecary owners tended to citizens, either sick or injured.
In the next room, we learned all about leeches. The docent here showed us an example of a fat, black leech; to our surprise, it was alive.
The Apothecary is part of the Washington Heritage Museums (WHM) nonprofit organization. Other WHMs include the Mary Washington House, Rising Sun Tavern, St. James’ House, Mary Washington Monument, and the Caretaker’s Lodge.
For more information about visiting the attractions, click here. For more information about visiting Fredericksburg, click here.
