The patent medicine bottle shown here was collected from the Plowboy site in Shawnee County and donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 2017. The medicine was made first by Mrs. Charlotte Winslow and marked by Curtis and Perkins, her sons-in-law. One of the ingredients in the soothing syrup was morphine, indeed providing the "soothing," but also drawing incriminations from the American Medical Association by 1911. It remained on the market for another 19 years. The donor painted the embossed lettering for emphasis. The Plowboy site was home to the Kansa, the Potawatomi, and Euro-Americans. At various times, the site contained a farm, a trading post, and a post office with nearby military trails, Mormon routes, a railroad and the California-Oregon trail.
Kansas Memory
Kansas Historical Society
Mrs. Winslow's Soothing Syrup Bottle from the Plowboy Site, 14SH372 - 1