Danville
Someone told me once that my dad was born on a kitchen table. I’ve always thought that was a joke since Dad, like me, shined at disassembling a decent meal. My grandmother made it easy.
Mimi — as she was known to her grandchildren — was a skilled cook and even better baker. No strawberry rhubarb pie or angel food cake (with pink glaze) was safe in her kitchen with us around. Neither was her ever-present orange marmalade, which was store-bought but delicious.
While I still don’t know if a kitchen table played any significant role, I do know that Dad was born at home. This was 1939 in rural Kentucky and, although my grandparents’ home wasn’t extremely remote (my dad was born about 25 miles south of Cincinnati), rural communities didn’t have the medical infrastructure they do now. Home births happened.
They happened a LOT.
Up to half of all babies born in the United States, in fact, were delivered at home until around 1940. That made home births downright common, unlike some medical procedures that had been performed in U.S. homes in generations prior.
Take, for example, an event that occurred in 1809 at a home in Danville, about 35 miles southwest of Lexington.
The McDowells
It happened at the home of Dr. Ephraim McDowell, a native Virginian and highly-trained surgeon who, just a few years earlier, had married the daughter of Kentucky’s first governor.
Dr. McDowell (in case you couldn’t tell from the previous paragraph) was kind of a big deal. So was his dad, Samuel McDowell, Sr., a judge and statesman who played a significant role in helping Kentucky gain statehood in 1792.
It was Samuel McDowell, Sr. who presided over several constitutional conventions for Kentucky statehood in Danville at a site now called Constitution Square — so named because it was the place where the state’s first constitution was signed. These events made Danville both the birthplace of Kentucky and a political epicenter in the late 18th century.
You couldn’t get much closer to the action than the McDowell House, located directly across the street from the square on S. Second Street. It was in a brick building next to the house that young Dr. McDowell opened an apothecary shop in 1797. Five years later, he married Sarah Shelby (the daughter of first Kentucky Gov. Isaac Shelby) and moved into the large home next to the shop.
From there, the McDowells raised their family while Dr. McDowell practiced medicine.
And that brings us at the beginning of our story here in Danville where, over 210 years ago in an upstairs room in the back of the McDowell home, a patient from Green County, Ky. and Dr. McDowell would make medical history.
Not your ordinary patient
The patient — Mrs. Jane Todd Crawford – thought she was pregnant when she sent for Dr. McDowell, and rightly so. She had an enlarged abdomen, so enlarged in fact that she thought she was expecting twins. The problem was no baby (or babies) ever arrived, which brings Dr. McDowell into the picture.
McDowell examined Crawford at her home and discovered that her baby bump was a 22.5-pound ovarian cystic tumor.
Dr. McDowell advised Crawford to travel to his home in Danville where he would attempt to remove the tumor. And she did. Riding over 60 miles on horseback for surgery on Christmas Day, no less.
Crawford not only survived but endured the surgery without any anesthetic (this was apparently before ether, chloroform, or other types of surgical anesthesia). Whiskey would have been available at the time, but a tour guide at the home with whom I talked briefly said there is no record that Crawford used that, either.
She returned home to Green County about 25 days after her operation with both her health and the distinction of being the first woman to undergo a successful ovariotomy (the removal of an ovarian tumor). She’s also a superhero, by my estimation.
All’s well that ends well . . .
Crawford was exceptional in other ways, too, because surgeries in the McDowell home weren’t typical. The tour guide who spoke with me said Dr. McDowell usually performed surgeries in other locations, not his own home. Whatever the reason he chose to do the procedure at his home, the outcome was a good one.
Dr. McDowell would become known forever more as the “founder of abdominal surgery.” Crawford would go on to live at least another 32 years.
The McDowell House Museum
The window to the room where Crawford had her operation is easily spotted from the formal garden at the rear of the McDowell House property. Herbs and other plant varieties that Dr. McDowell would have likely used in his practice are found around the garden, as well as in a separate garden space next to the brick apothecary shop.
What kind of herbs and other plants can you find at the McDowell House? Well . . .
There is St. John’s wort, that’s for thoughts . . .
I also found dill and rosemary, as well as thyme (“for coughs” according to the plant marker) and marjoram (for “sprains and bruises” per another marker).
Take a tour
I was more than content to view the property from outside, but indoor tours of the property — officially called the McDowell House Museum — are available by reservation. More information on tours at the McDowell House Museum can be found here.
Around the Square
Burke’s Bakery and Delicatessen
Around the corner from the McDowell House off Constitution Square on W. Main Street is Burke’s Bakery & Delicatessen, a family business run by Joedy Burke that serves up pastry and deli items which have delighted folks for generations.
Among the bakery’s most famous offerings are its doughnuts, salt-rising bread, and gingerbread men. All are made fresh daily.
I could tell my visit to Burke’s Bakery was going to be memorable as soon as I walked in the door. The smell of fresh pastries and other goodies wrapped around me like a sweet hug, making me crave whatever was in the bakery case.
My Burke’s takeaway? Two dozen cherry-raisin cookies (thick ones, each about the size of a half dollar), a half pound of homemade pimiento cheese, a cream horn, and a Burke’s Bakery tee shirt – all of which made the trip from Lexington to Danville very sweet indeed.
And other points around town
It’s just a short trip from Constitution Square and the aroma of Burke’s Bakery to other revered Danville institutions that would make good additions to any travel plans:
Centre College
There’s Centre College, a respected U.S. private liberal arts college and the alma mater of several prominent Americans, including two U.S. Vice Presidents and U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Fred M. Vinson. Centre is also the host of the annual Great American Brass Band Festival which is typically held every June.
Pioneer Playhouse
Enjoy one of the longest-running summer stock theatre companies in the country at Pioneer Playhouse. It is here where some Hollywood greats — including John Travolta and Lee Majors—performed early in their careers.
& Art Center of the Bluegrass
Do yourself a favor while you’re in Danville and also visit the Art Center of the Bluegrass located in the 109-year-old former federal building at the corner of W. Main and N. Fourth.
The bright, beautiful rooms in the center house exhibits, classrooms, and more. Both in-person and online art programs are offered here, including one of my favorites — the Starry Night Studio.
The upcoming Sept. 17 studio class ($35 per person) will pay homage to The Starry Night painter with an adaption of Van Gogh’s Olive Trees with Yellow Sky and Sun. Check out other offering for adults and kids while you’re on the website.
We’re leaving Boyle County to head back into the Daniel Boone National Forest for another adventure. Until next time, stay cool — and socially distant!
Still curious? Contact the Danville-Boyle County Convention and Visitors Bureau for more information!
