“Health, Healing & Addiction in 19th Century America”

Generously sponsored in part by CT Humanities, and featuring rare, never-before-seen artifacts from a major private collection as well as public institutions, this new exhibition will explore how families managed their health in the 19th century. It will investigate what history can teach us about the Germ Theory, technology, Civil War and its medical legacy, and the extraordinary breakthroughs that rocked the establishment leading to the birth of modern medicine. The exhibition will also bring to light unconventional treatments and the darker side of medicine such as addiction through the access of popular over-the-counter “remedies” promising pain relief and improved health.