The Lydia Pinkham House was the

Lynn, Massachusetts Lynn is the eighth-largest municipality in Massachusetts and the largest city in Essex County. Situated on the Atlantic Ocean, north of the Boston city line at Suffolk Downs, Lynn is part of Greater Boston's urban inner core. Settled by E ...

, home of

Lydia Pinkham Lydia Estes Pinkham (born Estes; February 9, 1819 – May 17, 1883) was an American inventor and marketer of an herbal-alcoholic "women's tonic" for menstrual and menopausal problems, which medical experts dismissed as a quack remedy, but w ...

, a leading manufacturer and marketer of

patent medicine A patent medicine, sometimes called a proprietary medicine, is an over-the-counter (nonprescription) medicine or medicinal preparation that is typically protected and advertised by a trademark and trade name (and sometimes a patent) and claimed ...

s in the late 19th century. It is in this house that she developed Lydia Pinkham's Vegetable Compound, an application claimed to provide relief for "female complaints". Its address, 285 Western Avenue, was widely known, for women all over the country would write to her for advice and comment, and the company cultivated the idea that Pinkham created the compound in her home. Pinkham herself would answer such letters, and the practice was continued by the company in her name for some time after her death in 1883.

House history

The house was built in circa 1872 by either Charles Beede, the seller of the property in 1871, or Leander Berry, who purchased it. The house was built with Second Empire styling, including a Mansard roof, which was then in fashion. In 1876 Beede reacquired the property, which he then rented to Isaac and Lydia Pinkham. It was at the time the only Second Empire home in the neighborhood. The Pinkhams occupied the house until Lydia's death, during which time the company rose to national prominence. The basement of the main block has large storage areas and shows evidence that it once contained a large stove on which the Pinkham compound would have been produced. The original house had an

ell An ell (from Proto-Germanic *''alinō'', cognate with Latin ''ulna'') is a northwestern European unit of measurement, originally understood as a cubit (the combined length of the forearm and extended hand). The word literally means "arm", and ...

that extended from the rear. In the years 1922 to 1928 a sleeping porch and several rooms were added to the second floor. Two fireplaces were added, from the outside. Around 2000 the building was given a major rehabilitation. The house was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 2012. Two years later it was further designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

References

{{National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Buildings and structures in Lynn, Massachusetts Houses in Essex County, Massachusetts National Historic Landmarks in Massachusetts National Register of Historic Places in Lynn, Massachusetts Second Empire architecture in Massachusetts Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Essex County, Massachusetts

House history

See also

References