Lydia Pinkham House

The Lydia Pinkham House was the Lynn, Massachusetts, home of Lydia Pinkham, a leading manufacturer and marketer of patent medicines 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.[2]

Lydia Pinkham House
South profile and east elevation, 2012
LocationLynn, Massachusetts
Coordinates42°28′33″N 70°57′3″W
Builtcirca 1872
Architectural styleSecond Empire Cottage
NRHP reference No.12000818[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPSeptember 25, 2012
Designated NHLAugust 25, 2014

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.[2]

The original house had an ell 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.[2] Around 2000 the building was given a major rehabilitation.[3]

The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2012. Two years later it was further designated a National Historic Landmark.[4]

See also

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
  2. "NHL nomination for Lydia Pinkham House" (PDF). National Park Service. Retrieved 2013-12-22.
  3. "NRHP nomination for Lydia Pinkham House". Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved 2013-12-22.
  4. "National Register of Historic Places listings for October 3, 2014". U.S. National Park Service. October 3, 2014. Retrieved October 3, 2014.
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