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Blogroll
Category Archives: Medicine
Andrew McFarland (mental health center namesake)
Dr. Andrew McFarland, the namesake of the Andrew McFarland Mental Health Center near Springfield, directed the Illinois Hospital and Asylum for the Insane in Jacksonville in the mid-1870s. Perversely, McFarland (1817-91) also helped expand the rights of people accused of … Continue reading
Posted in Medicine, Social services, Women
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Covid-19: History in the making
At least three local institutions are documenting the Covid-19 pandemic and its impact on individuals in Illinois as it happens. Representatives of all three gave presentations May 17, 2022, to the Sangamon County Historical Society. Results from two of the … Continue reading
Posted in Disasters, Medicine, Public health, Resources, Science
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Tapeworms and medical fraud, 1884
Dr. George Kreider “hates quacks as the devil hates holy water,” the Illinois State Register said in 1884, but he almost met his match in an 87-foot tapeworm. George N. Kreider (1856-1922) was a leader among Springfield physicians in the … Continue reading
Dr. Don Deal, surgeon and visionary
In the 1920s, Dr. Don Deal correctly predicted Springfield’s reinvention as a medical center. Springfield’s medical establishment “draws from a larger surrounding territory, in proportion to its population, than any other city in the United States,” Deal told fellow members … Continue reading
Posted in Medicine, Prominent figures, Public health, Science, Uncategorized
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St. John’s Hospital
Mary Lincoln may have been one of the earliest patients to benefit from care provided by what is now the Hospital Sisters Health System. The story was handed down by a Franciscan nun, Sister Francis Dreisvogt (1849-1933), who was among … Continue reading
Posted in Germans, Lincoln, Abraham, Medicine, Public health, Social services, Uncategorized
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The “divine healer” sensation, 1896
August Schrader, “the divine healer,” set up shop in Springfield for 10 days in 1896. Thousands of people, complaining of maladies ranging from arthritis to kidney disease to blindness, sought treatment. Crowds blocked downtown streets, and trains brought people to … Continue reading
Posted in Amusements, Journalism, Medicine, Spectacles
2 Comments
Polio vaccinations, 1955 and 1964
First- and second-graders topped the priority list when local public health officials prepared to deliver the first polio vaccinations in 1955. The program was a success, despite an unplanned delay in scheduled “booster” shots. Children were among those most susceptible … Continue reading
Posted in Children, Medicine, Public health, Uncategorized
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Abortion murder trials, 1894
Was a Springfield doctor guilty of killing two women via botched abortions in 1893? Juries said no, but newspaper editorial writers disagreed. And despite the acquittals of Dr. John H. Lawrence, the boyfriend of one of the women was convicted … Continue reading
Posted in Crime and vice, Medicine, Women
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Prince Sanitarium fire, 1923
Twenty-five patients and five nurses escaped unharmed when a fire destroyed the top two floors of the David Prince Sanitarium on Aug. 23, 1923. But a Springfield Fire Department aerial truck was also a near-casualty. The Prince Sanitarium was founded … Continue reading
Posted in Buildings, Fires, Medicine
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Bachmann & Keefner Pharmacy
When it closed in 2003, Bachmann & Keefner Pharmacy, with its black-and-white mosaic floor, handsome walnut paneling and fire-engine-red bar stools, ended a 90-year tradition at the southeast corner of Sixth Street and Capitol Avenue. The corner building, under various … Continue reading
Posted in Buildings, Business, Medicine, Restaurants
2 Comments