Location: US 264 Business (Dean Street) in Bailey
County: Nash
Original Date Cast: 1973
The Country Doctor Museum was founded in 1967 by a small group of women led by Drs. Josephine Newell and Gloria Flippin Graham to commemorate the contributions of the country doctor. The core collections were materials belonging to Dr. Wood Tucker Johnson, Dr. J. Meigs Flippin, Robert E. Flippin, and Dr. Needham B. Herring. Some ancient pieces were purchased from the private collection of newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst. The medical offices used to house the museum were those of Dr. Howard Franklin Freeman (built in 1857) and Dr. Cornelius Henry Brantley (built around 1884). Both offices originally were just a few miles from Bailey, where the museum is now located. As the museum grew, its mission expanded to include the interpretation of various aspects of healthcare, including nursing, pharmacy, homeopathy, and dentistry.
In 2003 the museum’s Board of Directors dissolved itself and donated the museum to East Carolina University. It is managed as part of the History Collection of the Laupus Medical Library. The museum offers training for the university’s students in public history, education, and design. It continues to develop exhibits that teach the public about rural healthcare. Among its collections are medical kits, surgical sets, microscopes, apothecary equipment, carriages, and nursing uniforms. Reference books and journals were added over the years, providing research material for medical students. The grounds boast a medicinal herb garden that replicates the oldest such garden in the world in Padua, Italy. The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday in Bailey.
References:
County Doctor Museum website: http://www.countrydoctormuseum.org/
Wilson Daily Times, December 7, 1968, and July 8, 1995
American Medical Association News, August 19, 1968
Fifty Plus (April 1997)