The Philadelphia State Hospital at Byberry: A History of Misery and Medicine

TheQuaker City and its hospitals were pioneers in the field of mental health. Yetby the end of the nineteenth century, its institutions were crowded andpatients lived in shocking conditions. The mentally ill were quartered with thedangerously criminal. By 1906, the city had purchased a vast acreage offarmland incorporated into the city, and the Philadelphia Hospital dubbed itsnew venture Byberry City Farms. From the start, its history was riddled withcorruption and committees, investigations and inquests, appropriations andabuse. Yet it is also a story of reform and redemption, of heroes and humandignity-many dedicated staff members did their best to help patients whosemental illnesses were little understood and were stigmatized by society. Joinauthor J.P. Webster as he explores the fascinating and complex history of thePhiladelphia State Hospital at Byberry.