SAN ANTONIO — Cuero, southeast of San Antonio, is home to the Pharmacy and Medical Museum of Texas. The building started out as a pharmacy back in the 1800s.

“You’re in a building that was a hospital for this community of Cuero at a time period when there were no hospitals. Surgery was done here. People died here. We have snake oils and quackery devices, narcotics and poisons; all things of the past people were using as treatments,” said museum historian Jeremiah Ford.

Ford enjoys showing visitors what medical treatment was like more than 100 years ago. The museum houses original medicine bottles and other items that helped people with headaches and other ailments back in the day.

“The goal of the doctor was to keep you alive at least a little bit longer. They didn’t have antibiotics yet, so they would use things that had side effects such as mercury, opium, arsenics and such,” said Ford.

But that’s the price people paid trying to get well. Most of the items in the museum come from the Reuss family, which includes generations of doctors and druggists. Ford says items like original Coca-Cola syrup bottles and even a jar that housed leeches tell a story that’s worth preserving. 

“Personally, I just enjoy being able to look at the history of the items by walking up to something, look it up on the internet, and study it and have something to share with the public and patrons who come in,” he said.