History
Upstairs, the proprietor, usually a pharmacist, would mix the carbonated water with a variety of pre-made syrups. Medicines at the time were usually in liquid form. And the soda fountain provided an effective and tasty vehicle for dispensing them. At first, pharmacists used flavored and sweetened soda water to mask the taste of bitter drugs like quinine and iron. Eventually they expanded into sweet drinks without the medicines for kids and treats for adults - "bracers" that contained cocaine and other pick-me-ups and "nervines" with sedatives including alcohol and morphine.