The Ephraim McDowell House was the home of Ephraim McDowell, the “father of modern surgery.” Here on December 25, 1809, McDowell performed the first successful abdominal operation when he removed a 22-pound ovarian cyst from Jane Todd Crawford of Green Co. With no anesthesia, she sang hymns during the operation. Crawford recovered in 25 days and lived until 1842. The house was built in three stages, with a brick ell, or single-story wing, built in the 1790s. McDowell purchased the house in 1802 and added the front clapboard section about 1804. A rear brick office and formal gardens were added in 1820. The house was sold when McDowell died in 1830. In the 1930s, the Ky. Med. Assoc. bought the house, and it was restored by the WPA. The house was dedicated on May 20, 1939, and is now a house museum.