02/13/2026
✨ Another Piece of the Story ✨
The research can take awhile…and there’s more to come!
One of our recent finds may be one of the most telling yet.
This early 1900s bottle — dated approximately 1905–1920 based on its glass manufacturing — still carries remnants of its original paper label. After enhancing the lettering, we can make out what most likely reads:
“Compound Coffee Syrup
Fluid Acid Phosphate”
In the early 20th century, preparations like this were commonly used in pharmacies and soda fountains. Coffee-based syrups were stimulant tonics — often used for fatigue, headaches, digestive complaints, and “nervous exhaustion.”
Acid phosphates were especially popular during the soda fountain era. Pharmacists would mix flavored syrups with acid phosphate and carbonated water to create refreshing drinks that were believed to have medicinal benefits. Before modern pharmaceuticals, this is how many remedies were dispensed — over the counter, mixed by hand, often right in front of the customer.
This bottle’s wide mouth and thick base suggest it likely sat behind a pharmacy counter — used repeatedly for compounding and dispensing rather than sold as a retail bottle.
When we pair this with our other medical and soda fountain finds, it paints an increasingly clear picture:
🧪 This building most likely once housed an early pharmacy.
🥤 And very likely a soda fountain as well.
Medicine wasn’t just practiced here — it was mixed, poured, and served.
There is something incredibly meaningful about uncovering evidence that healing has always lived within these walls. Long before Dunes Dermatology, this space cared for the people of our community.
And now, over a century later… it will again. 🤍
