Did you know that there’s a medical museum in Clarke County? The Carter-Coile Country Doctors Museum is just outside Athens, in small-town Winterville. It’s named for the two doctors who occupied its structure: Warren Carter and Frank Coile. Carter graduated from Atlanta Medical College in 1874, then moved to Winterville, where he had the simple wood-frame structure built on the town square. He practiced medicine there as the town’s doctor until his death. Frank Coile followed in his footsteps, moving into the building 12 years after Carter died and staying for decades.
The building served several other purposes over the years, but in 1972, it opened as one of the only museums in the U.S. dedicated to the story of rural healthcare. Visitors can see authentic artifacts used by northeast Georgia’s country doctors as they tended to the medical needs of their community and explore a 19th-century botanical medicine garden. The garden is home to 19 species of non-toxic plants cultivated for medicinal use in Georgia, including garlic, goldenrod and dandelions. The museum also features temporary exhibitions.
Why focus on rural medicine? The museum’s mission states, “By deepening the historical understanding of public health and individual healthcare, our purpose is to serve all citizens and facilitate discussion of human problems that are common across time.” You can visit the Carter-Coile Country Doctors Museum at 111 Marigold Lane in Winterville, Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Admission is free, but donations are welcome.