MCDOWELL HOUSE MUSEUM INC

What MCDOWELL HOUSE MUSEUM INC does

McDowell House Museum Inc is a 501(c)(3) non-profit historic house museum incorporated in Kentucky and headquartered at 125 S 2nd St, Danville, KY. The museum preserves and interprets the former home, office, and apothecary of Dr. Ephraim McDowell, the surgeon who performed the world's first successful ovariotomy on Christmas Day 1809. The site is designated a National Historic Landmark by the U.S. National Park Service. Operations are delivered by three paid staff (Director Carol Senn, Administrative Assistant Alice Reardon, Assistant Director Lauren Clontz) supplemented by volunteers, board members, and student workers, with governance by a Board of Managers.

The museum operates two adjacent historic sites — the McDowell House (including the apothecary, operating room, formal and medicinal gardens, and period kitchen) and Constitution Square Historic Site, an open-air museum devoted to Kentucky statehood in 1792. Core products include year-round docent-led public tours (Tuesday-Saturday), group tours for organizations of 10+, school field trips with educational scavenger hunts, Constitution Square self-guided and guided tours, and a virtual tour launched during COVID-19. The physical site is enriched by an artifact collection of 200+ medical jars in the apothecary plus period antiques of 18th-early 19th century English, French, Scottish, and American origin.

Revenue is generated through four streams: (1) tiered tour admissions ($5 adults, $4 college, $2.50 students, free under 4), (2) a seasonal gift shop at Constitution Square (March-December) selling books, pottery, bath products, t-shirts, and souvenirs, (3) an online store with books, prints, gifts, and multimedia products, and (4) a tiered monthly donation program (Family $5 to 21st Century Heritage Society $500/month). Booking occurs via FareHarbor (online), phone (859-236-2804), and email; group bookings of 10+ require phone/email and one-week advance reservation. Marketing relies on organic social (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TripAdvisor) and word-of-mouth. The property is owned by the Kentucky Medical Association, which originally purchased it in 1935.

Name

MCDOWELL HOUSE MUSEUM INC

Legal name

McDowell House Museum

Website

https://mcdowellhouse.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1935

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

McDowell House Museum Inc is a 501(c)(3) non-profit historic house museum in Danville, Kentucky that preserves and interprets the 1800s home and apothecary of Dr. Ephraim McDowell, offering guided tours, field trips, group visits, and a virtual tour to the general public, schools, and tourists.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Historic House Museum and Cultural Heritage Tourism

NAICS

Historical Sites (71212), Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (712), Historical Sites (712120), Museums (712110)

akta.pro primary industry

Historic Sites, Heritage Landmarks & Archaeological Sites (THAJACAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Cultural Heritage & Historic District Tours (THAJAAAB), UNESCO & Protected Landmark Sites (THAJACAI), Archaeological Sites & Heritage Interpretation Centers (THAJADAG), Neighborhood & Local Life Tours (Communities & Hidden Gems) (THAJAAAJ)

Keywords

• Historic house museum
• Guided historical tours
• Educational field trips
• Museum gift shop
• Historic preservation

Headquarters

HQ city

Danville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Tour Admissions: Revenue from public tours, group tours, and field trips with tiered pricing based on age and group size. Adults $5, college students $4, elementary-high school $2.50, children 4 and under free.
2. Gift Shop Sales: Seasonal gift shop (March-December) selling books, pottery, bath/body products, t-shirts, note cards, medallions, afghan blankets, coffee mugs, and multimedia products.
3. Donations and Memberships: Monthly donation program with tiered categories: Family ($5), Sponsor ($10), Jane Todd Crawford Circle ($25), Sarah McDowell Circle ($50), Ephraim McDowell Society ($100), 21st Century Heritage Society ($500). Also accepts single donations.
4. Merchandise Sales: Online store selling books about Dr. McDowell, Kentucky history, genealogical records, architectural histories, recipe books, activity books, prints, and multimedia recordings.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

McDowell House Museum operates guided in-person tours of the restored 1800s home, apothecary, and gardens of pioneering surgeon Dr. Ephraim McDowell at a National Historic Landmark site in Danville, Kentucky, supplemented by Constitution Square Historic Site tours, school field trips, group tours, and online virtual tours. Earned revenue is supplemented by a seasonal gift shop, an online store selling books and souvenirs, and a tiered monthly donation/membership program.

Product overview

McDowell House Museum is a historic house museum and National Historic Landmark offering in-person and virtual guided tours of the 1800s home and medical practice of pioneering surgeon Dr. Ephraim McDowell. The museum provides multiple tour products including the main house, apothecary, kitchen and gardens, and Constitution Square historic site. It operates as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, supplementing museum admission with a gift shop and online store selling books, gifts, prints, and multimedia items.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• McDowell House Museum Tours

Quantifiable outcome

• First successful removal of ovarian tumor in the world - 22.5 pound tumor removed without anesthetic or antisepsis on Christmas Day 1809
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Kentucky Pharmaceutical SocietycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 August 1959Restored the apothecary building in the late 1950s. The apothecary consists of a back doctor's office and stunning front pharmacy housing over 200 medical jars.
• Roerig Division of Pfizer LaboratoriescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 August 1959Donated the apothecary collection assembled by Sydney Blumberg, the world's largest collector of antique apothecary ware at the time. Collection includes 200 pieces of 18th and early 19th century equipment from English, French, Scottish, and American origin.
• State of Kentucky / WPAcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 May 1939State of Kentucky received the house from Kentucky Medical Association and had it restored by WPA (Works Progress Administration). Dedicated on May 20, 1939 as a historic museum.
• Kentucky Medical AssociationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1935Purchased the McDowell House in 1935 and deeded it to the state of Kentucky for restoration. Later received the property back in 1948 and has been instrumental in preserving the historic site for over 85 years.
• Charles H. NiehausmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 March 1929Renowned sculptor who created the bronze statue of Dr. Ephraim McDowell for Kentucky's Statuary Hall collection.
• Colonial Dames of America, Chapter IX in KentuckymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFurnished the first room - the operating room - where Dr. McDowell performed the world's first ovariotomy in 1809.
• Women's Auxiliary to the Kentucky Medical AssociationmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoined with Colonial Dames to furnish the rest of the McDowell House with period antiques and artifacts.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Thomas Jefferson's Monticello: A National Historic Landmark historic house museum with guided tours, educational programs, school field trips, and a robust gift shop and online store. Directly comparable in product mix but operates at significantly larger scale and brand recognition.
• The Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation: A large-scale American history museum with curated exhibits, educational programming, school field trips, and a substantial retail operation. Comparable in educational mission and product mix but orders of magnitude larger in scale and resources.
• Colonial Williamsburg: A large-scale historic site offering guided tours, educational programming, retail, and ticketing across multiple restored buildings. Comparable in product offering but operates at vastly larger scale and budget than McDowell House.

Direct peers

• The Mark Twain House & Museum: A National Historic Landmark house museum offering guided tours, school field trips, group visits, and a gift shop. Highly comparable in scale, product mix (tours + retail + programming), and reliance on a single signature historical narrative.
• Old Sturbridge Village: A living history museum in Massachusetts that preserves and interprets early American life through guided tours, historic buildings, and educational programs. Directly comparable to McDowell House as a multi-building historic site with curriculum-aligned field trips and a similar small-staff operating model.
• Historic Deerfield: A small New England historic house museum offering guided tours, school programs, and curated artifact collections in a preserved early-American setting. Closely comparable in size, product mix, and reliance on a signature historic narrative.
• Constitution Square State Historic Site: The Kentucky state-operated historic site adjacent to McDowell House that McDowell House actually manages for tours. Directly comparable as a Kentucky historic site with guided tours, school programming, and seasonal operating constraints.

Regional players

• Ashland: The Henry Clay Estate: A historic house museum in Lexington, Kentucky, with guided tours, educational programming, and school field trips. Comparable as a regional historic house museum in Kentucky operating with a similar size and tour-driven revenue model.
• Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill: A historic site in Kentucky operating preserved 19th-century buildings with guided tours, field trips, and visitor retail. Comparable as a regional historic site operator in Kentucky with similar educational programming and small-staff nonprofit structure.
• Locust Grove (Louisville, KY): A National Historic Landmark historic house museum in Louisville, Kentucky, offering guided tours, school programs, and a gift shop. Directly comparable in scale, geographic region, and operating model as a small Kentucky house museum.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCfZrMjuJVjQAgswnK-AKcRQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/168526950514
• Instagraminstagram.com/mcdowellhousegardens
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/mcdowell-house-museum-inc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about MCDOWELL HOUSE MUSEUM INC