McDowell House Museum and Apothecary

McDowell House Museum and Apothecary McDowell House is a house museum. Every Tuesday-Saturday personally guided tours are given through the house at 11:15, 1:30 and 3.
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Raindrops on roses...🌹☔🌧️
05/27/2026

Raindrops on roses...🌹☔🌧️

Did you know: In October 2002, Dr. McDowell posthumously received the University of Kentucky College of Medicine's Disti...
05/26/2026

Did you know:

In October 2002, Dr. McDowell posthumously received the University of Kentucky College of Medicine's Distinguished Honorary Alumnus Award from UK's Medical Alumni Association.

Dr. McDowell's great great great granddaughter Louise Winningham of Knoxville accepted the award on behalf of the family.

Dr. McDowell was nominated for the award by museum board member Dr. John Collins.

This rosewood piano has an interesting story about how it returned to its home after more than 150 years! Kentucky Gover...
05/22/2026

This rosewood piano has an interesting story about how it returned to its home after more than 150 years!

Kentucky Governor Isaac Shelby gave the piano as a wedding gift to his daughter Sarah when she married Dr. Ephraim McDowell in 1802.

Sarah passed the piano to her daughter Adeline, and its new home was in Tennessee, where Adeline made her home with her husband James Deaderick and their 10 children.

The piano was later sold by James to repay a co-signed debt.

Over the years that followed, the piano traveled to New Jersey, Florida and North Carolina, and had made its way out of McDowell family ownership for a time before being reacquired by descendant Frances Ochs.

Ochs's granddaughter - and Sarah McDowell's great great great granddaughter - Anne VanDyke Palmer Bayliss eventually received ownership of the piano from her mother as a gift, and in 2005 she donated it to the museum.

Board member Dr. Tom Courtenay traveled to Chapel Hill, N.C. to retrieve it and return it to its original home on South Second Street, and the rest is history!

(Source: 4/17/05 The Kentucky Advocate, article by Brenda S. Edwards.)

Here are some photos of McDowell House Museum's restoration over the years, as published in The Kentucky Advocate to com...
05/21/2026

Here are some photos of McDowell House Museum's restoration over the years, as published in The Kentucky Advocate to commemorate the museum's 50th anniversary in May 1989.

This May we're celebrating our 87th anniversary. How time flies! ⏳🕑🪽📆

Heartfelt thanks to our guests, volunteers, employees, board members, community, medical, government and historic organizations; donors; McDowell family members, the local community and everyone who has supported us over the years!

Bloodroot is growing in our Apothecary Garden, and was once used for treating lung ailments, as well as oral maladies an...
05/19/2026

Bloodroot is growing in our Apothecary Garden, and was once used for treating lung ailments, as well as oral maladies and to treat warts and other skin problems.

Its name comes from a thick orange-red liquid that "bleeds" from its broken roots, stems and leaves. Creepy! 🩸😱🙀

Bloodroot actually contains sanguinarine, an antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory agent, though it's not recommended for internal use because the plant is highly toxic. Yikes!

Want to know more about 1800s plant-based "cures" and other skin-crawling treatments like leeches and bloodletting?*

Visit our museum and take a tour - www.mcdowellhouse.com has all the details about ticket pricing and availability.

(*And if you don't want to hear the creepy stuff, just ask, we'll skip it entirely! :) )

A reliable perennial plant, Sweet Woodruff prefers its somewhat shady spot in our Apothecary Garden! 🌳Its crushed leaves...
05/16/2026

A reliable perennial plant, Sweet Woodruff prefers its somewhat shady spot in our Apothecary Garden! 🌳

Its crushed leaves were once used in poultices or infusions for treatment of wounds (aka a "vulnerary herb") or ingested as a "tonic," a term used to describe a medicinal or herbal preparation made to restore a person's health and vitality, much like Coca-Cola was originally marketed as a medicinal brain and nerve tonic. 🧠

Some foragers and others still use Sweet Woodruff to flavor May Wine, teas, jellies and desserts, and it's said to have a vanilla-almond type of flavor that's also somewhat grassy. 🍦

But don't think about wildly grazing on this intriguing plant - it does contain coumarin, which can be very harmful in large amounts. ⚠️

Last Saturday evening McDowell House Museum officials were pleased to attend McDowell Night at the Norton Center for the...
05/16/2026

Last Saturday evening McDowell House Museum officials were pleased to attend McDowell Night at the Norton Center for the Arts on Centre College's campus, featuring a panel discussion with Kentucky historians, a chautauqua focused on the life of Judge Samuel McDowell and on display, the original 1792 Kentucky Constitution and a "Be the People" photography exhibit.

This event was part of Boyle County's America 250 events taking place this year. Thanks to all who made this event possible!

We grow white and purple lavender here in our apothecary and formal knot garden, and it smells sooo nice! 🥰As you can se...
05/15/2026

We grow white and purple lavender here in our apothecary and formal knot garden, and it smells sooo nice! 🥰

As you can see from the sign, lavender was used hundreds of years ago to impart its sweet scent and to flavor food, much as we use it today.

It's been known to calm the nervous system and improve sleep quality, too. Thanks, lavender!

Come take a museum tour while the lavender and many other fragrant blossoms are in season and you'll be relaxed AND informed!

Visit www.mcdowellhouse.com for pricing and availability.

A female eastern carpenter bee was visiting the sage blossoms in our kitchen garden - they can be troublesome for boring...
05/13/2026

A female eastern carpenter bee was visiting the sage blossoms in our kitchen garden - they can be troublesome for boring holes in wood, but on the bright side they're good pollinators! 🐝

One of these things is not like the other...👀
05/13/2026

One of these things is not like the other...👀

Address

125 S 2nd Street
Danville, KY
40422

Telephone

(859) 236-2804

Website

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