Title: Douglas County Hospital and Sanatorium Records
Inclusive Dates: 1900-1965

Creator:

• Douglas County Hospital and Sanatorium (Wis.)

Call Number: Douglas Series 128

Quantity: 2.6 c.f. (2 archives boxes and 10 volumes)

Repository:

Housed at the Area Research Center, Jim Dan Hill Library, University of Wisconsin-Superior; owned by the Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Library, Archives, and Museum Collections

Archival Locations:

COLLECTION MAY BE STORED OFF-SITE: see catalog entry to request materials and for additional information.

UW-Superior Jim Dan Hill Library / Superior Area Research Ctr. (Map)

Abstract:

Records of a Douglas County mental health institution located in the town of Parkland that was opened in 1909 and operated under various names until closing in 1991. Throughout the institution's lifetime it served as an asylum, poor house, tuberculosis sanatorium, and home for the elderly, and maintained a farm and garden. The records document the administration of the facility and provide limited information about the residents. Administrative records include minutes of the board of trustees (1909-1958), financial records (1913-1938), monthly population statistical reports (1951-1956) and correspondence (1951-1956) and correspondence (1955-1956). Patient records contain biographical data and information on the patients' physical condition and care. Cemetery and death records provide record of the facility's residents and others buried in Parkland Cemetery, 1900-1946, and information on some individuals who died while at the institution from 1916 through 1965.

Note:

There is a restriction on access to some of this material; see the Administrative/Restriction Information portion of this finding aid for details.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-doug0128

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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.

Access Restrictions

Records that identify individuals receiving care or aid are confidential under Wis. Stats. 51.30 and 49.001. Access to these records is possible under certain circumstances, however. Records more than 75 years old are open for research. Access to records less than 75 years old may be granted under the following conditions: 1) Prospective users submit to the Archives a written request describing the project to be undertaken, the records to be used, and the proposed product of their research; requests for information about specific individuals or cases will not be permitted; 2) Prospective users sign a written agreement that there shall be no disclosure, either directly or deductively, of personally identifiable information taken from these files; and 3) Photocopying of material by the researcher is prohibited.

Processing Information

Processed by Lyndi Finifrock, 2003.

	Series: Administrative Records
	Board of Trustees Minutes
Volume   [1]	1909-1924
Volume   [2]	1924-1935
Volume   [3]	1935-1942
Volume   [4]	1942-1949
Volume   [5]	1949-1953
Volume   [6]	1953-1958
	Financial Records
Volume   [7]	Voucher Register, 1913-1918
Volume   [8]	Cash Receipts, 1913-1938
Box   1	Monthly Statistics, 1951-1956
Box   1	Correspondence, 1955-1956
	Series: Patient Records	⇧
Volume   [9]	Record of Patients at Sanitarium, 1912-1934 (Restricted)
Volume   [10]	Record of Patients' Board, Care and Clothing, 1909-1923
Box   1	Annual Report on Characteristics, 1951-1956 (Restricted)
Box   1	Movement of Population (Home), 1953-1956 (Restricted)
	Series: Cemetery and Death Records (Restricted)	⇧
Box   1	Burial Record, 1900-1946
Box   1	Burial Permits, 1910-1946
Box   11	Bodies Donated to UW Medical School, 1943-1965
Box   12	Funeral Director's Record of Death, 1953-1965
Box   12	List of Individuals Interred, 1929-1946