BY ANN CIPPERLY
FOR THE OBSERVER
OPELIKA — Sam Hendrix, author of “Auburn: A History in Street Names,” will speak Aug. 26 at noon for the Lunchbreak Lecture Series at the Museum of East Alabama. Hendrix will talk about Dr. John Darby, who came to Auburn to teach science at the Auburn Masonic Female College in the mid-1850s. He was then hired as one of the original faculty members at the East Alabama Male College.
“Dr. Darby was a fairly well known science instructor,” Hendrix said, “and while in Auburn, he developed a product that was one of those ‘miracle elixirs’ that often made the rounds. However, it seemed that his actually worked.
“Darby’s Prophylactic Fluid could help protect against several diseases, could be used as a cleaning product and could help with one’s bad breath or with odors in the parlor during Uncle Fred’s wake. Confederate surgeons used it on the battlefields as an antiseptic in treating wounded soldiers.
“He mixed this stuff in the chemistry lab of the Masonic College, in the basement of the building that later was moved to API and named Langdon Hall,” Hendrix added.
Dr. Darby sold the fluid to drug stores all over the country. It was shipped in crates from the depot. His fluid was one of the earliest products made in Auburn and sold outside the village.
Hendrix is a native of Arab, Alabama, and holds a bachelor of arts from the University of North Alabama and master’s in higher education administration from Auburn University. He spent almost his entire career with Auburn University in public relations and as a development officer with the College of Veterinary Medicine.
After retiring in 2013 following 31 years with AU, Hendrix has authored a history of the Auburn Church of Christ; a biography of Dr Charles Allen Cary, founding dean of veterinary medicine at Auburn; and “Auburn: A History in Street Names,” an encyclopedic history of the community told through stories involving 400 streets.
He is working on a history of Auburn’s College of Nursing, as well as a book on the 1978 explosion that destroyed the Kopper Kettle in Auburn. He also serves on the board of Auburn Heritage Association.
Hendrix and his wife, Mary Ellen, also an AU retiree and author, live in Auburn where they are members of the Auburn Church of Christ.
The Museum of East Alabama is located 121 S. 9th St. in downtown Opelika. Kylie Hogue is the curator and executive director of the museum. For further information call (334) 749-2751.
