When the Cushetunk settlement was established along the upper Delaware River in the mid-1750s by a group of farmers from eastern Connecticut, two brothers, Simon and John Calkin, were among the original settlers.

John Calkin, the elder of the two siblings, was a medical doctor, who was later described by James Eldridge Quinlan in his 1873 “History of Sullivan County” as a man “of talent and usefulness.”

Unfortunately for the residents of Cushetunk, John Calkin—his name is sometimes recorded as Calkins or Corkins—did not remain in the settlement for long. Some of the landowners in the Wyoming Valley of Pennsylvania, also formerly from eastern Connecticut and feeling increasingly desperate for the services of a medical doctor in their new home, made him an offer he could not refuse, and in return for a large tract of land, he relocated his medical practice there after a few years.

Mostly because of his decision to leave the settlement, not much has been recorded about Dr. Calkin’s bedside manner, or the effectiveness of his treatments. 

What is known is that although his son, Oliver Calkin, remained in Cushetunk, fought in the Battle of Minisink and survived, and later drowned in the Delaware River, no physician or surgeon ever replaced Dr. Calkin here.

That left the settlement without a resident medical doctor, and caused them to rely more and more on the knowledge of Nathaniel Evans whenever someone took ill or was injured. Evans was a troublemaker of sorts who had engaged in feuds with a number of the other residents, including Daniel and Haggai Skinner, but he had also learned many herbal based remedies for various ailments and conditions from the Native Americans, and was often called upon to dispense them, earning him the honorary title of Dr. Evans, and making him more or less indispensable to his neighbors.

The plant based remedies that Evans typically prepared and administered were in stark contrast to the conventional medical treatments of the time, which consisted primarily of bleeding patients and amputating limbs, but many proved to be as effective—or more so—and were perpetuated through the years.

The newly upgraded Apothecary at Fort Delaware Museum of Colonial History in Narrowsburg, NY features many stories about the exploits of Nathaniel Evans, but more importantly, discusses the remedies he touted, explaining their origins and their efficacy.

Many of these herbal remedies, by the way, have been vindicated by modern science, and some continue to be used to this day. Coneflowers, for example, including Echinacea, were often utilized in colonial times to boost sluggish immune systems, and serve much the same function today. 

Willow bark, which Native Americans used extensively to treat fevers and headaches and general aches and pains, has been found by modern science to contain large concentrations of salicin, which is one of the main components of aspirin. 

The seeds of wild grapes were crushed and boiled by the Lenape to treat heart problems, and today grape seed extract is considered a powerful supplement for lowering blood pressure without prescription drugs.

While he did remain in Cushetunk considerably longer than Dr. Calkin, Evans also eventually moved westward—to Ohio—where he took up bottling and selling “Seneca Oil,” a petroleum product that often bubbled out of the earth in parts of New York occupied by the Seneca, who used the crude oil for medicinal purposes.

Some local histories in Ohio note than Evans built a crude shelter over one such spring and captured and bottled the liquid, then travelled by canoe to Cincinnati, where he sold it as a virtual cure-all.

Although not specifically addressing the lives or accomplishments of Drs. Calkin or Evans, two programs offered at Fort Delaware this weekend will provide a much more in-depth look at these two drastically different approaches to healing, as well as the practitioners who employed them.

On Saturday, August 10, colonial re-enactor and retired biology professor Donald Terpening will present “The Colonial Era Physician: His Life and Practice.” The program will run from 3 to 4 p.m. and is included in the cost of admission to the Fort.

On Sunday, August 11, herbalist Richard Mandelbaum reprises his program, “Splendid and Miraculous: 18th Century Herbal Remedies,” which he has presented at Fort Delaware before. The program also starts at 3 p.m. and is included in the price of admission to the Fort.

Fort Delaware Museum is located on the Upper Delaware Scenic Byway at 6615 Route 97 in Narrowsburg. It is open Thursday thru Sunday until Labor Day, and then Saturdays and Sundays in September and October. It is owned by Sullivan County and operated by the Barryville based non-profit history education group, The Delaware Company.

John Conway is the Sullivan County Historian. Email him at jconway52@hotmail.com.  He will be providing the introduction for both of the upcoming prograams at Fort Delaware.