I have written a book called Vanished in Hiawatha: The Story of the Canton Asylum for Insane Indians published by the University of Nebraska Press. I am looking forward to getting this story out to the public, and hope that every reader will discover something interesting about the asylum and the era in which it operated.

I stumbled upon the Canton Asylum story quite by accident, while researching the topic of involuntary commitment to madhouses in the 19th century. I was astonished to discover that a place like Canton Asylum had existed, and I immediately began digging for more information.

I’ve reviewed thousands of pages of primary documents in the National Archives and Library of Congress concerning the Canton Asylum, the treatment of Native Americans, government policies, and other related topics. I’ve also reviewed dozens of articles in the American Journal of Insanity (which changed its name to the American Journal of Psychiatry in 1921), pored over inspections, reports, and statistics from the era, and discovered information about key figures from many other primary sources.

I also created a blog, Indians, Insanity, and American History Blog which did not duplicate information found in the book (except for some of the barest facts). Instead, I concentrated on information about the era, people, and places that affected the establishment of the Canton Asylum. I would like to thank everyone who has followed this blog for these past few years while I was writing this book.

PLEASE NOTE:  I am now beginning a new research project and will no longer post to the Indians, Insanity, and American History Blog, although you can still enjoy the posts on the site.

I invite you to follow this new blog, Healing, Hell, and the History of American Insane Asylums. I am writing a new book which will contain interesting information about asylums in the United States and the history of mental health treatment. I’m excited about it and hope you will be, too.

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