Historic Houses

Recovery "All Through Prayer"

The house:  In 1866 Mary Patterson, the future Mary Baker Eddy, describing the grounds of this house on Paradise Lane, spoke of “a gracefully sloping lawn — a fountain of crystal water beautifully bordered by the weeping willow — fruit trees ranged in stately rows.” Today the orchard is gone. The grounds are smaller. But they have been beautifully restored to a period-inspired landscape design. The house exterior also has been restored. The upstairs parlor, bedrooms, and kitchen where the Pattersons lived are furnished in typical nineteenth-century style.

Its story:  In late 1865, after a series of moves, the Pattersons rented an apartment on the second floor of this house on Paradise Road. Daniel Patterson joined a dental practice in the booming nearby city of Lynn. Both Pattersons joined in the life of the community — especially Mary, writing for the newspapers, attending church, and participating in Temperance meetings.

In February 1866, on her way to one such meeting, Mary fell on an icy sidewalk. The fall caused severe internal injuries, according to the physician who was called. When he brought her back to this apartment, she was in critical condition, barely able to move, let alone walk. His prognosis was dire: If she survived, she might never live a normal life. But it seemed she might not survive.

Friends kept a watch day and night. Her minister was called for. On Sunday, lying helplessly on a cot near the heated stove in the kitchen, she prayed and sought help from her Bible. An account of Jesus healing the sick inspired a moment of profound insight. She pulled herself up from the cot and crossed the room unaided, to sit in a chair. Her friends were amazed. “This is all through prayer,” she assured them. When Mrs. Longyear located this house in 1920, she found a witness who, over fifty years later, still recalled vividly the events of that weekend.

Soon after her remarkable recovery the house was sold. The Pattersons moved to a succession of rented rooms. During these months Patterson deserted her. Mary Patterson found herself impoverished, still frail, and alone.  But this healing, here, marked such a turning point in her thought that she once referred to this house as the “birthplace of Christian Science.”