An ad for Pond's Extract (1910)

Barrel of Dickinson's witch hazel extract at Museum of America and the Sea, CT (Flickr user walknboston, 2010)

Early patent medicines included a few varieties of witch hazel extract: “Witchal”, a strong mix of witch hazel and alcohol, was a common remedy that boasted being “from the woods to relieve pain” (Connor, 1994, p. 239). In 1948, Theron Pond of New York began producing his own extract which he called “Golden Treasure”. After his death, the name was changed to “Pond’s Extract”. One of the biggest producers of witch hazel extract was Thomas Newton Dickinson, who created the Dickinson company. He began producing witch hazel extract in 1866 in a distillery in Essex, Connecticut. The company still exists today. Witch hazel was one of the most widespread home remedies and is one of few original patent medicines that is still used today.