A Somewhat Brief History of Moxie

It’s beginnings
In the latter days of the 19th century, the development of patent medicines was a popular pursuit of fledgling inventors, backroom chemists, and other assorted types. Before the days of branding and Madison Avenue marketing, these various products often burst on the scene to much fanfare, then quickly faded from view, only to become future trivia questions and left solely to cult aficionados.

Located in the Merrimack Valley of Massachusetts, the city of Lowell in the 1880s was an industrial city, with huge textile facilities lining the Merrimack River. While textile production was the anchor industry of the area, numerous manufacturers of patent medicines and various elixirs also set up shop in the city.

On July16, 1885, Dr. Augustin Thompson filed trademark number 12,565 (subsequently registered on September 8, 1885) for a product he called Moxie Nerve Food.

Thompson’s trademark indicated that Moxie, “has not a drop of Medicine, Poison, Stimulant, or Alcohol in its composition.