Corneau & Diller Drug Store

Corneau and Diller Drug Store. Looking for Lincoln. , Apothecaries in the mid-19th century carried a surprising variety of drugs and remedies, potassium iodide for rheumatism and syphilis, sulphate of quinine for tooth powder, opium elixir for toothache, and camphor for an aphrodisiac. "Cure-all" patent medicines were popular. Dr. Hoofland's Balsamic Cordial was touted for dysentery and colic. Wright's Indian Vegetable Pills cured "headaches, hysterics, weak nerves, low spirits, female complaints, and stomach and lung disorders." Sarsaparilla was prescribed for "ringworms, lumbago, pains of the bones and joints, neuralgia, nervous debility and pale complexion." "Brown Mixture," named for its color, was Corneau and Diller's own remedy for colds and coughs. Because Springfield's first soda fountain was installed here, Robert Lincoln later recalled that he and his friends considered Corneau and Diller "a good place to go."

In 1849 partners Roland W. Diller and Charles S. Corneau opened their store on the east side of the public square. With its big stove and circle of chairs amid cluttered shelves of drugs, pills, patient medicines and other articles, it became a favorite place for men, including Abraham Lincoln, to congregate and discuss politics, social happenings, and swap stories.

Ledger records of Lincoln's store account show that Mary Lincoln purchased toiletries such as bear's oil, ox marrow, "French Chalk" for her complexion, a patent hairdressing called "Zylobalsam," and "Mrs. Allen's Restorative." She made cosmetic paste out of Castile soap and Indian meal. Because daily bathing was not yet customary, the Lincolns, like most other people, brought cologne by the quart! For the children, Mary purchased "Pennyroyal" to prevent flea and mosquito bites, Hive Syrup for coughs and croup, Wistar's Balsam of Wild Cherry for asthma and bronchitis, and sweet oil for chest rubs. It seems the Lincoln children often suffered respiratory ailments. Three of them eventually died prematurely from fevers or lung disease.

Photo of Roland W. Diller