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Apothecary Hall Museum

Apothecary Hall Museum, located in the heart of Christiansted, is an authentically furnished, nineteenth-century Danish Colonial pharmacy filled with exotic apothecary bottles, drawers of dried and powdered medicines, and antique pharmacy equipment.

Brief History

Apothecary Hall MuseumThe pharmacy was established in 1820 by a Danish pharmacist who arrived in St. Croix to prepare medicines for the Danish military garrison in Christiansted, then the capital of the Danish West Indies. The pharmacy served St. Croix for more than 140 years.

Initially, medicines were manufactured for the Danish soldiers as well as the other physicians and pharmacists in the Danish West Indies. Unlike the addictive opium-containing medicines widely used in the United States at the time, the Danish pharmacists practiced what is known as "heroic medicine." This consisted of dispensing harshly-acting chemical compounds of antimony, lead, and mercury to treat ailments that they understood even less than the drugs they were administering to their patients.

The last owner of this pharmacy continued to operate it until he retired in 1970, when he donated his handsome drug jars and pharmaceutical equipment to the St. Croix Landmarks Society. The fully restored pharmacy opened in its original location in 1987. Today the pharmacy is used as an exhibit for the public.

Future Exhibits

The St. Croix Archeological Society plans to use the old Apothecary as a museum that will offer the public a chance to explore evidence of the Indian tribes that lived here during 3,000 years of the island's human history. The collection will display such items as pottery, axe heads, beads and an ancient canoe.

Location

Corner of Company and Queen Cross Streets, Christiansted

Admission

Free

Hours of Operation

Monday - Saturday: 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Closed for Winter Holiday Saturdays: December 24, December 31 and January 7
© 2019 St. Croix Landmarks Society. All Rights Reserved.