Mary Baker Eddy Historic Houses: Lynn & Swampscott

By -
A black, white, and light blue striped header image reading 'Mary Baker Eddy's Houses in Lynn & Swampscott'

During my trip to the Christian Science Plaza in Boston during late May of 2022, I learned that the Longyear Museum, established by Christian Scientist Mary Hawley Beecher Longyear in 1937, owns a collection of houses important to the life of Mary Baker Eddy. As described with greater detail in my previous blog, Mrs. Eddy (as she is called on the Longyear website) founded or “discovered” the religion of Christian Science. Docents at these houses chronicle her life and explain her contributions to their beliefs.

Mary Baker Eddy House in Swampscott; a three story yellow clapboard house. Mary Baker Eddy Historic Houses sign; all eight houses with exterior and interior images on a light yellow sign. Mary Baker Eddy at 8 Broad Street sign; blue text on a white wall. Below the heading is italicized text reading 'Foundation Work for a Worldwide Movement'

Swampscott House

Mary Baker Eddy briefly lived in this house from 1865 to 1866 with her second (bad) husband Daniel Patterson. This was the home where she recovered after a traumatic fall on an icy sidewalk. Her condition as recorded by her doctor, and relayed to me through the tour guide, was consistent with modern descriptions of neurogenic shock from a spinal cord injury or nerve damage, along with internal bleeding. While Mrs. Eddy’s doctor, minister, and friends believed she would suffer permanent disability or die, she quickly recovered from shock and fully regained her health at a more gradual pace. Mrs. Eddy credited her healing to prayer and reading her Bible, and the event inspired her to discover the Christian Scientist movement.

Mary Baker Eddy Historic House Swampscott sign; a sign in three parts, with HISTORIC HOUSE on the top crossbar, a white sign describing the specific house, and a green sign at the bottom describing open hours. Portrait of Mary Baker Eddy; a middle aged woman with 19th century clothing Sitting area by the staircase Parlor at Mary Baker Eddy Swampscott House; a portrait of Mr. Eddy above a boarded off fireplace. Several chairs, a mantle clock, and a set of shelves with china. Second Parlor at Mary Baker Eddy Swampscott House; boarded off fireplace with decorative firescreen, large clock on mantle, built in cupboards with a few items for sale, and a round table with papers related to the life of Mary Baker Eddy in the middle of the room 'Do right and fear not' cross stitch; hung above a fireplace. The mantle holds a pair of flower vases on either end. a statue and two sets of books are in the middle.

The house has been restored to an accurate if somewhat romanticized mid 19th century style. The bedroom where Mrs. Eddy recovered from her accident is a highlight of the tour. The room was bright on the day that I visited because of the three tall windows. Over the walled-in fireplace was a framed cross stitch reading “Do right and fear not”, a favorite phrase of Mrs. Eddy. Circular heating vents on the floor of the second story helped heat rise through the space before modern HVAC systems. Reproduction photographs showed the Lynn and Swampscott area from the time Mrs. Eddy lived in the house. Among my favorite artifacts was a cute cast iron stove in the kitchen.

Heating vent; a round metal covering with eight curvy slits in the top Kitchen stove at Swampscott house; a short, cast iron stove about knee high. To the left of the stove is a china cabinet. Above the stove is a shelf with more china and an oil lamp. Reproduction Photograph of Samuel M. Bubier Shoe Factory; a four story brick building at the corner of oxford and market streets, built around 1855.
Pair of photographs showing streets scenes in Lynn and the original state of the house. Mary Baker Eddy's bedroom at Swampscott house; a wooden bedframe with a white coverlet over the bed. A pair of floral rugs lay on the floor. A heating vent is to the right of the bed next to the boarded off fireplace. Above the fireplace is the cross stitch 'Do right and fear not'.

Lynn House

This house has been a museum since 1916, first run by the Mother Church at Christian Science Plaza in Boston and now by Longyear Museum since 2006. The building underwent restoration from 2009 to 2016 and now matches how Mrs. Eddy originally decorated. She purchased this house in 1875 and lived there until 1882, writing her first book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures from a small room in the attic. The guide told me a publishing horror story related to the printing of the book. The printer substituted her text for his own writing, then printed the new (bad) version without letter her know the changes. Mrs. Eddy spent much of the next year re-editing the book to bring it back to its original form. On a more positive note, on January 31, 1881, Mrs. Eddy chartered the Massachusetts Metaphysical College. She ran the school in the first floor parlor of the house, a location where she met and married her third husband, Asa Gilbert Eddy. The second husband had abandoned Mrs. Eddy after her accident; in contrast, the gravestone inscription she commission for Mr. Eddy described him as “a devoted husband”.

Back of Lynn House; a three story mid 19th century house with light pink paint and green shutters. Table of documents related to the life of Mary Baker Eddy; includes photographs of the house, a portrait of Mr. Eddy, and reproduction letter. Dining room at Lynn house; An oval dining room table covered by a red table cloth with four chairs around it. The green floral rug exactly matches the wallpaper. Montello model of a cast iron stove by W. Holker & Co. Writing desk with replica of typesetting for Science and Health Three foot tall cylindrical cast iron stove by Co-op Stove Works of Troy, NY

Like many modern developments, this house was built on speculation, meaning that an architectural firm constructed the building without a final owner in mind. Because of this and a lack of building codes at the time, the house exhibits what I professionally describe as weird architecture. Cutouts in the ceiling allow standard sized doors to open in an attic space. One of the bedroom doors opens directly onto a flight of stairs; unsurprisingly, this bedroom is not open to the public. Christian Scientists believe Mrs. Eddy had the gift of divine healing, so at least anyone who fell down the stairs during her time as the home owner would quickly recover.

Back corner of the parlor at Lynn house; white wallpaper with floral bouquets; upright piano. A row of three wooden chairs. A chair beside the piano. Kitchen at Lynn house; Montello stove to the left in front of a closet containing the hot water heater. A wash sink, a pair of tables, and a green chair on the opposite wall. Front door of Montello stove; a cast iron door with decorative brass on the front, with MONTELLO spelled out in a brass, all caps, serif font. Metal label of the cast iron stove by Co-op Stove Works of Troy, NY Wallpaper in the parlor at Lynn house; white wallpaper with flower bouquets, golden decorations, and a shield-like motif with tine light blue dragons More wallpaper at Lynn House; a light blue, white, and golden paisley design

Mrs. Eddy improved the space with her unique decorative taste, installing deep red floral carpets and ornate floral wallpaper in her parlor. The four floor-to-ceiling windows in the bump out at the front of the parlor are draped with matching deep red curtains. Mrs. Eddy would have stood at a lectern in front of the windows to teach her classes with a dramatic backlit affect. Other interesting finds were a pair of restored signs which once hung on the side of the house advertising Massachusetts Metaphysical College and the home of Mrs. Eddy, called Mary B. Glover at the time the sign was painted. As for my own niche interest in cast iron stoves, this house had two models brought in during the restoration, with one manufactured by Co-op Stove Works of Troy, NY, and the other a Montello model by W. Holker & Co. Down on the first floor, the exhibit “Lynn: Foundation for a Movement” covering the life of Mrs. Eddy and small gift shop completed the visit.

Detail of reproduction sign for Mary B. Glover's Christian Scientists Home; black background with golden letterns and an icon of a book. Golden border around book and around the text. Sign for Massachusetts Metaphysical College; golden borders and black background to match other sign. Text below title reads Charterned Jan. 31, 1881 Detail of a ceiling cutout allowing the door to swing open Bump out in the parlor of Lynn house; four windows draped with matching deep red curtains. A lectern stands in front of the windows. A pair of chairs sit on the dark floral rug in front of the lectern. Second parlor at Lynn house; white, red, and green floral rug on a green painted floor. A settee sits against the far wall, which is covered in yellow and dark green floral wallpaper. In the center room is the round table with images from the life of Mrs. Eddy 'Lynn: Foundation for a Movement' Exhibit; A set of panels on a whitewashed wall.

Conclusion

The houses have a seasonal schedule, as they are open from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays from November through April, and from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays plus 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Sundays from May through October. The houses are also open by appointment; call ahead to 1-800-277-8943 to schedule your tour. I used the contact form of the museum’s website along with its email address, letters@longyear.org, to inquire if the museum was open on the day that I planned to visit, but I did not receive a reply.

The sunlight room where Mary Baker Eddy wrote Science and Health; a comfortable black chair with a writing desk on a woven rug underneath a skylight Black and white floral wallpaper from Lynn house A framed sample of the layers of original wallpaper at Lynn house

As for accessibility, both houses are well-lit with ample space to move around. However, the Swampscott house is not wheelchair accessible. The Lynn house was restored with greater accessibility in mind and has a ramp and small elevator in the “Visitor Vestibule”, a glass addition on the back of the house, allowing visitors using wheelchairs to view the first floor. The website has photographs, video, and text to give a virtual tour of the space.


Abby Epplett’s Rating System

Experience: 8/10

Accessibility: 7/10



Location: 8 Broad St, Lynn, MA 01902, USA