Dr. Paul's Medical Bag Returns to Troy

By Valerie Britton - When trains first roared down the tracks in the mid 1800’s, countless terrible accidents occurred.  Over the years as we approached mid-1900’s, the railroads became more improved and safe.  The number of accidents declined considerably, but in the event of an emergency, Troy was fortunate to have a physician on hand that lived only a stone throw from the depot. 

Dr. Samuel E. Paul was a well known, distinguished, and highly regarded physician who practiced in Troy for almost thirty years from 1940-1969.  Dr. Paul's normal office hours were 1:30-4:00 Mon, Tues., Thurs., Fri. and evenings 6:00-8:00 Mon., Wed., Thursday.  He also covered at the Elliott Community Hospital in Keene. 

The Troy Cheshire RR Depot Commission is delighted to have Dr. Paul’s personal medical bag donated to our museum by his son Daniel.  Not only do we have the black leather bag, we have the contents which includes a blood pressure cuff, stethoscope, his wristwatch, pill-velopes, a tongue depressor, one empty glass vial of 0.2mg of Digoxin, a cardiac glycoside, and two empty vials of Bismuth and Paregoric used to control diarrhea, scissors, safety pins, gauze, and cloth bandages.

There are still some folks in town that will remember this medical bag. I certainly do!  Obviously, I don’t remember when Dr. Paul delivered me, but this bag showed up with Dr. Paul after my arm got bent while horsing around with my Father. Dr. Paul thoroughly checked me out and made me a special sling.  (My father felt terrible..) Mine was a very minor injury compared to those that must have occurred at the train yard and the Troy Blanket Mill.  Fortunately, the mill had some first aid people or a nurse to stabilize on site and then transport the injured to Dr. Paul’s office or to the hospital. Dr. Paul treated every individual with special care and attention no matter what theinjury or illness. 

Dr. Paul’s sons are natives of Troy and have common memories and ties to our town.  This bag is a priceless piece of Troy history and is another example of their generosity.   During April this medical bag will be on display at the Library along with our depot display and then returned back to the museum for the permanent display. 

Stories related to train accidents in Troy during the 1800’s can be found under the History tab.  Please share your stories of Dr. Paul and we will link them to this article.