The Womans Tonic. Dr. Pierce’s Favorite Prescription.

Off the highway in College Ward when you’re leaving Logan and heading toward the canyon to go up and over the pass to Brigham City you can see off to the right an add for “The Womans Tonic. Dr. Pierce’s Favorite Prescription.” on the side of a barn.

I’ve always loved the old look of it, I wondered if it was real for many years but after looking into it I found it it was a very popular product that sold millions of bottles through the mail and claimed to instantly cure any problem a women had.

Over 100 years ago the add was painted on the barn and $10 a year was paid for some time.   The company went out of business in the 1940s but the add still stands.

A 2011 Eagle Project of Jacob Whitney is a monument stating:

This barn was originally painted to promote the products of Dr. Ray Vaughn Pierce sometime during the Great Depression.

Dr. Pierce was born in Starke, New York. Aug 6, 1840. Although there is some doubt as to whether or not he was an actual doctor, he is believed to have graduated from The Eclectic Medical college of Cincinnati in the mid 1860’s.

In 1867 he moved to Buffalo, New York and started to manufacture medicine. Some of his medicines included: Dr. Pierce’s Favorite Prescription, Smart Weed, and Dr. Pierce’s Pleasant Pellets. He sold these medicines through the mail and marketed them in “The People’s Common Sense Medical Advisor”, a book he wrote himself. This book had sold more than 2 million copies by the year 1907.

The Woman’s Tonic claimed to cure those diseases caused by “feminine complaint”. An advertisement in an 1895 Ann Arbor Register stated: “There are not three cases in a hundred of woman’s peculiar diseases that Dr. Pierce’s Favorite Prescription will not cure.” According to the labeling it contained “Lady’s Slipper root, Unicorn root, Blue root, Oregon Grape root, and Viburnum.” It is believed that the original formula contained opium and alcohol. According to the locals it contained “a baby in every bottle”.

This barn was built by Lovenus and Mary Olsen. Lovenus was paid $25 for the first painting and $10 annually for rent. It was repainted every year except during World War II when lead was scarce. After falling into disrepair, members of the College Ward community donated time and money to restore the barn in 1998. It is currently owned by the Stevenson family.