Territorial Pharmacy

On the first floor of the Pharmacy building, visitors get a glimpse of a territorial pharmacy, with its show globes, wood floor, and compounding machines.

The most striking part of the display is the frontpiece, with its large mirror and etched, stained glass. This frontpiece was built around 1870 in Tennessee and used in a drug store there. When the store eventually closed, the piece was sold and moved to Columbus, New Mexico, near the Mexican border. The town of Columbus was attacked by Pancho Villa and his men on March 9, 1916, after which it gradually lost many of its residents. The frontpiece was bought in a bankruptcy sale and moved to the Tombstone Drug Store in Arizona. It was donated to the History of Pharmacy Museum by a former owner of the pharmacy and underwent refinishing before its display.

The pharmacist would work in privacy behind the mirror and look out the clear glass sides to observe customers. The marble shelf originally was deeper and was used to display sale items.