Sketch of Coffee-Spice-Drug Mills, hand cranking from Enterprise Manufacturing Co. catalog 1901. Internet Archive.
The term ‘drug mill’ had a very different meaning in the early years of America’s existence than it does now. A drug mill was a term used to describe both/either the actual “mill” used to process medicine OR the building in which it was processed.
It was a perfectly legal shop or manufactory where large quantities of medicinal herbs (roots, leaves, seeds, flowers, etc) were collected, and dried. Then it was ground, macerated or crushed, and processed into its final liquid or solid form. The final product was then packaged and labeled for sale to apothecary resellers and physicians. The drug mill would also create preparations for a multitude of problems. Prepared compounds were the forerunners of the soon to be called ‘patent medicines.’ Continue reading
