The Delaware State Hospital admitted thousands of patients in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with conditions ranging from schizophrenia and blindness to substance use disorders. Some patients were even admitted for pregnancy-related ailments.
Local anthropologist Kathy Dettwyler spent years documenting these patients’ stories from old hospital ledgers.
Her work resulted in a book published this fall called ‘Remembering Farnhurst’ and a companion searchable database of patient records.
In this week’s Enlighten Me, Delaware Public Media’s Sophia Schmidt talks with Dettwyler about the Delaware State Hospital's history and the people who spent time there.
The handwritten hospital ledgers Dettwyler's work utilizes were found by a custodian in a Department of Health and Social Services office. They date between 1894 and 1920. “I realized that the stories were just fascinating, and it was a priceless resource about the hospital, and the state at the time, and the people who were patients there,” she said.
Dettwyler’s book builds patient case studies using these ledgers, old newspapers and genealogy resources. She says it is important to remember these stories.
“I think it’s very easy for people to write off individuals who have a diagnosis of a mental illness or who have spent time in a mental hospital as being ‘other,’ as being just sort of nameless, faceless individuals who are ‘crazy.’ And this tells you that, no, these are real people— they had parents and siblings and children and lives.”
Dettwyler notes the stories in the book also show that people from all walks of life can experience mental illness and “need a little help from their friends.”
