The Country Doctor Museum is the oldest museum in the United States dedicated to the history of America’s rural health care.

Over the decades, the Museum’s collection grew to over 5,000 medical artifacts and many volumes of historic texts gathered from across the nation.

The interpretive range also expanded from rural doctors to include topics such as nursing, pharmaceuticals, and home remedies.

The Carteret County Historical Society (CCHS) serves the Carteret County community of North Carolina. Its mission focuses on preserving and presenting local history to its members, residents, and visitors. This is done through stories, films, publications, exhibits and presentations that are supported by its collections of artifacts, photographs, books, media, and documents.

Under one roof, the museum features short and long-term exhibits, including, the Warriors Gallery, the “New” Big Rock Gallery and the Jack S. Goodwin Research Center.

Dating back to 1536, the collection contains materials from across the world encompassing the fields of medicine, nursing, allied health sciences, dentistry, pharmacology, public health and domestic health. All materials are available for research.

In The Physician’s Community, explore and discover the careers of local humanitarian, Dr. Andrew Best, and musical connoisseur, Dr. Theodor Billroth.

Medical science is a human art, and the humanities are at the heart of interpreting what it means to be human: striving for knowledge and grappling with suffering. Just as 19th and 20th century country doctors responded to the needs of rural communities as therapeutic practitioners, health educators, community historians, and emotional healers, the medical objects, images, and papers require multi-focal analysis and engagement.

Enter this digital exhibit to explore historical, chemical, and literary work demonstrating both the importance and the interconnectedness of the sciences, arts, and humanities.