The records document the administrative history of the institution through most of its existence and provide limited information about individual patients, primarily through the mid 1940s. The records are arranged into three series: ADMINISTRATIVE RECORDS, PATIENT RECORDS, and CEMETERY AND DEATH RECORDS.
The ADMINISTRATIVE RECORDS deal with the establishment and management of the institution. The most comprehensive documentation of this function is found in the Board of Trustees Minutes, 1909-1958. The County Board of Supervisors appointed board members and the proceedings of their meetings document the duties of hiring a superintendent, and, with his assistance, managing the hospital. Most of the minutes consist of invoices for expenses incurred by the institution and presented to and audited by the Board whose president certified the claims and sent them to the County Clerk for payment. The Financial Records, 1913-1938, list payment for various services and detail expenditures and credits from farm and garden sales, providing insight into the daily operations of the facility. Monthly Statistics, 1951-1956, report the number of residents at the institution, the number admitted during the month, the number of residents discharged, and the reason for discharge. Correspondence, 1955-1956, pertains to the closing of the Home.
The PATIENT RECORDS provide mostly biographical information on the patients at the facility. Records of Patients at the Sanitarium, 1912-1934, contain the name, age, sex, date admitted, place of birth, last place of residence, contact information of nearest living relative or friend, date of discharge, and remarks pertaining to the individual's status (i.e. eloped, died, left, etc.). Records of Patients' Board, Care and Clothing, 1909-1923, detail the cost of maintaining patients at the institution and includes the name, residence, date admitted, time cared for, and amount due for board and clothing as well as remarks pertaining to the individual's status. Annual Report on Characteristics of Residents, 1951-1956, gives the name, date admitted, age, race, physical condition and special problems of the resident as well as the amount paid and by whom for the care provided. Movement of Population (Home), 1953-1956, gives the name and sex of patients readmitted to the Home and those discharged from the Home. The date of re-admittance and date and reason of discharge is also recorded.
The CEMETERY AND DEATH RECORDS primarily provide information on those that died at the institution and/or were buried at Parkland Cemetery, the cemetery associated with the facility. The cemetery has had many names throughout its existence, including Poor Farm Cemetery, Douglas County Cemetery, Potter's Field, and the Asylum Cemetery. The Burial Record, 1900-1946, lists the burials of individuals, most of whom were not residents of the facility, and includes grave number, date, name, sometimes the age, birthplace, cause of death, and other remarks. Burial Permits, 1910-1946, include the name, date of death and burial, cause, and place of death of residents buried at the cemetery. Permits are filed by year of issue. Bodies Donated to the UW Medical School, 1943-1965, documents the donation of cadavers to the University of Wisconsin-Madison Medical School from the Douglas County Hospital. A record of bodies donated was kept by means of receipt letters, 1943-1950, which include the name of the body provided and a list, 1953-1965, of names and when the receipt letter was received. Funeral Director's Record of Death, 1953-1965, lists the name, date of death, sex, race, marital status, birthplace, father's and mother's names, cause of death, attendant, and funeral director of those who died at the institution. It is arranged alphabetically. List of Individuals Interred, 1929-1946, was compiled in 1984 by the Twin Ports Genealogical Society. It is an alphabetical listing of those buried at the cemetery and includes name, date of death, place of death, and age when available. A map and a short description of the cemetery are also included.
