Shared from:
Washington Waterfront Underground Railroad Museum
August 15 at 7:33 PM ·

The Enslaved ingenuity and their medicine.
This is one of our newest collection items to our exhibits at the Harbor District Market. We have just acquired several of these 'turpentine pots.' This is a more modern version of the tar clay pots but the ones the enslaved people used were made just like this one.
Made of clay, these pots were secured under a 'v' shaped notch in the pine bark where the pine sap dripped into the pots. When the pots were full, they were emptied into large barrels then made into several different products. The sap or pine resin was made into turpentine by distilling the pine oil. Tar was made by burning the branches and trunks of the pine tree very slowly in kilns. The result was the dark, sticky, thick liquid called tar. Pitch was made by boiling the tar to make it more concentrated. By 1770, NC produced 70% of the exported tar and 50% of the turpentine.
98% of the work was done by the enslaved. But as a great health benefit for the enslaved, they learned to make all kinds of medicines and health aids from the turpentine and tar.

They made soaps, liniments, skin creams for eczema and psoriasis and cures for skin abrasions. Even today Vicks Vapor Rub and Apinol, an all purpose pine oil antiseptic is made from turpentine thanks to the enslaved teaching others how to make these cures. Turpentine was even used to cure the mumps.
Many thanks to Rebecca Clark and other generous donors.

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