Yesterday I was delighted to finally meet Eilene Lyon in person. We have exchanged many emails in the past while researching former patients at the Colorado State Hospital. She also has contributed to our knowledge of Stephen S. Smith, an important figure in the history of Pueblo.

One thing we discussed was how frustrating it can be to try to get good research findings from various organizations. All too often you might have to pay upfront and then … well, receive things you had already found by yourself on sights like FindAGrave and ColoradoHistoricalNewspapers. If you are wanting to do some research on a former patient in the State Hospital, you can start on your own by visiting those sites.

That said, I understand fully that many people find those steps to be difficult–especially the old newspapers. There’s both an art and a science to actually finding what you’re looking for there.

So when someone comes in to our museum (or contacts us online or on the phone), I try to feel them out on what they already have found. I am more than happy to help them with the “easy” stuff. When helping Eilene, however, it was pretty clear that she had already done a lot of the first steps on her own. She was looking for the stuff you can NOT find online, and that’s what I want to discuss here.

Going Beyond the Basics

You can find tips for researching relatives that have been in institutions for the mentally ill (their term, not mine) in guides posted by The National Archives, Family History Daily, and Julianne Mangin. They have some good advice and prepare you for the difficulty of the task.

However, as you start pursuing online information, you may get frustrated. For each link you find that seems to have some value, you will no doubt come across several others that simply want to get you to buy a membership or pay in advance for … whatever it is they’re selling. Be careful!

We have so many records in our archives that simply are not available anywhere else except in the old books they are written in. While it would be nice to have all of those records searchable in digital format, we simply don’t have the resources to accomplish that in the foreseeable future.

So if you’re having trouble finding things online, or have found all you can and want help in our archives, contact us!

Unfortunately at this time we are not set up to take credit card payments. We are sorry for the inconvenience.

Admission is $5.00 for adults. Children 12 and under are free.

Please bring cash for admission!

We have had many compliments about our museum this last year. Word seems to be spreading. If you’ve never visited our museum, please consider doing so. It is a real hidden gem.

Here is info on visiting us!

These leg braces are in one of our most popular rooms here at the museum: the medical room. Because I cropped this image, you can’t quite see the autopsy saw that is located to the left, in front of the prosthetic legs. So you’ll just have to come visit us to see the autopsy saw!

This last Saturday when I was giving tours of our museum, one item really got a lot of attention. It’s part of our “Unclaimed Property of Patients” display on the second floor.

I added the yellow highlights to these images so you can see what it is. It is a very large Hohner Marine Band Echo Tremelo harmonica. In the next image you can see it up close. It makes the regular size harmonica in front of it seem quite small in comparison:

I am trying to learn a little more about this wonderful object.

Here are a couple pictures of the Patrick Cottage at the State Hospital taken in 1959. Overcrowding was to the point where they had to find somewhere for the extra beds….

The State Hospital Museum will be open tomorrow, and there is a special offer for the first two people to visit: free admission + a $10.00 Visa Gift Card! Nancy Hall will be there to open up at 10 am, so if you’re there first, you not only get in for free, but also a token of thanks for visiting us.

I will probably stop by later in the day, so if you want to talk about patient records, I’d be happy to talk with you!

We are working on setting up new ways for people to donate to our museum. Currently we just have a cash box and hope people put 5 bucks in there when they visit. Heck, we usually don’t have any change, so we just say, “well, this time is free for you!”

I personally have been asked if I charge research fees. I usually don’t, but have set up a paypal donation page for people to contribute to my efforts if they feel they are worthwhile. I specialize in digging deep into our physical archives and finding information that simply can not be found elsewhere. If you want to contribute, you can use this QR code to my paypal donation page:

Or use This Link to Donate.

I love helping people find information. Thanks for helping keep history alive.

We are working on setting up donation options for the museum, as many people suggest different technical solutions. I will post any information here when we determine what services we’ll utilize.

–Richard

Today I tried a different approach with our scanner to see if it worked using some backlight. I got somewhat better results on this negative of Guy Mayo, a long-time employee of the hospital:

But it still doesn’t compare well to scanning an actual photo:

Just a quick note to tell you that we are still testing out being open on Saturdays, and will be open this Saturday, Feb. 11th, from 10 am to 4 pm.

As usual, a donation of $5.00 per adult is asked. Hope to see you Saturday!

It’s Tuesday, but it was 6 below zero this morning, so it’s a slow day at the museum. While Nancy is looking through an old Ward Census tome, I found this little tiny picture (original is 2 inches by 2 inches) in a collection of documents Nell is preparing for a presentation about the State Hospital Facilities division. It’s so tiny I decided to scan it at the highest settings and see how it would turn out:

It’s a real joy when you find an old picture and the names of the people on it are written on the back. Too many historical picture are just blank on the back, making you wonder who the people on it were.