The records of Wisconsin State Tuberculosis Sanatorium (Statesan) document the general administration and day-to-day operation of Wisconsin's first state institution for the care of persons with pulmonary tuberculosis. Although the records date to 1907, they are most complete for the period 1916 to 1950.
In addition to the archival records, several types of published reports which are available in the Wisconsin Historical Society Library (annual reports of the State Sanitorium (1908-1930), the Board of Control and the State Board of Health) are essential to understanding the history of Statesan.
Forty photographs documenting facilities, rehabilitation programs, staff and patients received with the records have been transferred to the Wisconsin Visual Material Archives where they were interfiled with similar photographs received from the Wisconsin Lung Association. (See PH 3870.)
The CORRESPONDENCE is arranged by employee position: the superintendent, who was responsible for the overall administration of the institution; the rehabilitation counselor; and the steward. The superintendents' correspondence comprises the largest portion of the series.
The correspondence has incomplete information about the treatment of patients. There are some records relating to clinical trials of drugs (e.g. “Promin”) and diagnosis, but discussions of treatment appear only infrequently in the superintendents' general correspondence and these discussions seldom comment directly on specific patients. By contrast, rehabilitation through occupational therapy and recreation is relatively well documented. Unfortunately, the rehabilitation counselor's correspondence covers only the years 1948 to 1956, a period not as well covered by the superintendents' correspondence.
The Superintendents' correspondence is subdivided into 1) correspondence with the Board of Control, 2) general correspondence, and 3) subject correspondence. Correspondence with the Board of Control consists of alphabetically-arranged incoming and outgoing letters. It documents not only the administrative relationship between Statesan and the board, but also illustrates the daily operations in areas such as admissions, patient transfers from county institutions, personnel, repairs and supplies, and relations with contractors. Also filed here are incomplete runs of weekly population reports of state and county tuberculosis sanatoria, monthly census reports of inmates in state and county institutions (circa 1919-1923), and Board of Control inspection reports (circa 1921).
The superintendents' general correspondence covers the period from 1928 to 1950. It consists of incoming and outgoing exchanges with doctors, state agencies, associations, other sanatoria, county judges, county and city boards of health, physicians, contractors, vendors, employees, patients' families, and applicants on a wide range of matters relating to day-to-day operations and overall administration. This correspondence is further subdivided into two distinct chronological sub-sections: 1927-1937 and 1937-1950, each arranged alphabetically and then chronologically.
The names by which items are filed are somewhat unpredictable; correspondence may be filed by company name, by product type, by institution, by general subject, or by personal name. In general, however, correspondence with organizations, institutions, and agencies is filed by organizational name (correspondence with Lake Tomahawk, for example, appears under “L”), unless the correspondence is about a particular patient. (In this case the correspondence is generally filed by patient name.)
These records document nearly every aspect of the daily administration of the State Sanatorium, as well as the relationship of the institution to other sanatoria in Wisconsin. In particular, it covers patient admissions; transfers of patients from state, county and private sanatoria; superintendents' relations with patients' families; purchase of materials and services; personnel matters; maintenance of the facilities and grounds; and Statesan's relationship with other state and local government agencies. It also includes patient applications (filed by patient name) containing descriptions of individual medical conditions and some correspondence with other institutions regarding treatment and therapy. However, the files do not consistently document the treatment of patients or patient life in general.
The superintendents' general correspondence documenting the period 1937-1950 is a continuation of the 1928-1937 grouping. It contains the same types of correspondence and documents the same activities and functions as the previous group, but it is arranged in a slightly different alphabetical system. The bulk of this part of the general correspondence covers the period from 1937 to 1946, with only scattered letters for 1947 to 1950.
Statesan superintendents also filed their correspondence in two distinct alphabetical subject files. However, the difference between the two files is not obvious. In general, the subject files deal with institutional relations between the sanatorium and other agencies and large scale construction projects, while the general correspondence subseries deal with specific patient and employee matters and routine maintenance and supply.
The first subject file (dated 1926-1950) contains incoming and outgoing correspondence exchanged with state and local agencies, other sanatoria, contractors, and vendors. It also contains some medical forms and blueprints. The bulk of the material covers the years 1934 to 1950, but there are files on construction projects dating from 1927 and 1928 and one file of 1930 correspondence with the Bureau of Personnel. This subject file provides further documentation of day-to-day administration and Statesan's relationship to county sanatoria, Lake Tomahawk State Camp and other state agencies. It also contains correspondence relating to the hiring of employees, transfers of patients between institutions, and maintenance, and in this respect, the section overlaps and complements the General Correspondence. Also in the first subject file are two folders labeled “tabulations” which contain reports of diagnostic x-ray surveys of private and state institutions conducted by the State Sanatorium and the State Board of Health's Division of Tuberculosis. Additional folders labeled “x-ray readings” contain medical reports and correspondence regarding cases identified in the x-ray surveys. Several folders on construction during the periods 1926 to 1928 and 1934 to 1944 contain blueprints, drawings, and specifications. For more blueprints also wee the Wisconsin School for Boys Blueprints (Series 2566).
The second superintendents' subject file (1929-1950) contains incoming and outgoing correspondence with state and local agencies, other sanatoria, contractors, and vendors, as well as medical forms, blueprints, and financial reports. These files also document the institutional relations between the sanatorium and other agencies and major construction projects, and they cover a broad range of activities and functions, including relations with county health boards, patient recreation, training of medical students, occupational therapy, and involvement with WATA and other organizations. Institutional relationships between the sanatorium and many state agencies are also well documented. Prominent subjects include construction and renovation planning, transfer of indigent patients, personnel, and purchasing. Moreover, files on the Winnebago State Hospital, Wisconsin State Hospital, and Wisconsin State Prison cover patient transfers and periodic examinations of residents of those facilities by Statesan staff. This section also provides useful documentation of the relationship between Statesan and the Board of Health.
The rehabilitation counselor correspondence, mainly 1948 to 1956 and alphabetically arranged, consists of exchanges with state agencies, private organizations, entertainers, physicians, rehabilitation counselors at other sanatoria, and vendors. The counselor was responsible for the occupational therapy and educational and recreational activities for the sanatorium's patients; all of these activities are reflected here. This correspondence subseries also contains a small quantity of newspaper clippings, financial statements, notes, and lists. The coordination of entertainment through the “Goodfellowship Club” is particularly well documented, as is educational and occupational training and the production of the sanatorium publication, The Beacon. Also included here is correspondence between the rehabilitation counselor and the WATA and the rehabilitation staff of other sanatoria regarding useful therapy. A small amount of correspondence reflects the involvement of private organizations and individuals in charitable work for the sanatorium. One folder of newspaper clippings relates to the opening of the sanatorium in 1907 and to some later activities.
The Steward's correspondence consists of correspondence of the steward (and occasionally the assistant steward) with the State Board of Control on routine financial matters. The correspondence is arranged by incoming and outgoing mail and further arranged chronologically. Although only a small group of records it complements the superintendents' correspondence with the Board of Control.
The FINANCIAL RECORDS include a payroll register, contracts and purchase agreements, budgets, annual balance ledger sheets, and a property inventory. Research involving the financial records should be carried out in conjunction with the published annual reports in the SHSW Library which include summary financial statements.
The payroll register, 1908-1919, is arranged chronologically by month and year. Entries include the name of employee, occupation, time worked, and salary. Salary and wage figures for 1929-1939 are found in superintendents' subject files 1930-1949, under the heading Budget, and similar figures are found in the budget papers described below.
Contracts and purchase agreements, 1910-1918, consist of contracts, agreements, bids and specifications for the construction of buildings, utilities, and additions or renovations. Included are standard contracts used by the State Board of Control in dealing with private contractors and estimates for work and materials, specifications, and some correspondence between the State Sanatorium, State Board of Control, and contractors. The materials document construction projects at the State Sanatorium during the institution's greatest period of expansion, but does not cover the original construction of the institution. The type of information varies with each project. Many projects are documented only with a standard contract, however, detailed descriptions of some projects may be found in specification sheets, and the bidding and contracting process is sometimes represented in correspondence.
The budget papers, 1931-1949, contain chronologically-arranged operating and payroll schedules, notes, and correspondence. The operating schedules include requests for maintenance and improvements, itemized by building or structure. Payroll schedules list current and proposed salaries by occupation. Also included are notes, calculations, draft versions of operating and payroll schedules, and correspondence with the State Board of Control, the State Board of Health, and the State Department of Public Welfare regarding submittal of budgets and revisions. The information is similar to that found in the budget folders in the Superintendents' Subject Files II, except that this file contains drafts of proposed budget and payroll schedules.
The ledger sheets, complete annual balance figures for fiscal years 1933 to 1950, are loose sheets grouped by fiscal year, containing summary figures by category of inventory, income, and expenditure. Some categories are broken down by month or quarter, but most are simply annual credit/debit totals. These figures overlap those in the inventories described below, but the expense and income figures included here are unique.
The property inventory lists all physical assets of the sanatorium for the fiscal year 1945-1946, while one folder summarizes the years 1947 to 1952. The inventory volume is arranged by building, floor, and room, and it lists items ranging from x-ray machines to wood screws. The level of detail allows researchers to identify drugs in the laboratories, book titles in the library, or even furnishings in the superintendent's residence. Summary sheets in each volume list total dollar values by building and by account heading.
