Doctors Jesse and John Shackelford, father and son, had overlapping medical practices that spanned over a half century, beginning in the 1890's. From Henry County, Virginia, both father and son were educated as surgeons in leading medical schools in Baltimore. During the first quarter of the twentieth century, Baltimore was the epicenter of revolutionary changes in the way doctors were trained and both Doctors Shackelford brought back with them the newest ideas of medical practice. Martinsville's Shackelford Hospital, founded in 1921, became a leading center in Virginia of the new "scientific medicine." This exhibit will display original medical paraphernalia and traces the evolution the combined practices of the Doctors Shackelford as profound changes transformed American medicine.

The exhibit is co-sponsored by the Martinsville-Henry County Heritage Center & Museum and the College of Henricopolis School of Medicine.