Publications

Notice: Naming The Forgotten The Eastern State Hospital Project coordinators or the KyGenWeb, do not receive any money from the sale of any books listed, nor should it be considered an endorsement of any kind. This information is supplied solely for our researchers benefit.    

THE EARLY GATEKEEPERS: A SAGA OF THREE AMERICAN INSTITUTIONS

By A.Wynelle Deese (jdeese@tampabay.rr.com) 

This historically researched novel is about the people who created and maintained a Medical School, Law Department and Lunatic Asylum in Lexington, Kentucky.  The introductory Chapter was based on the year of 1906 when the local Lunatic Asylum was investigated by a Grand Jury following the death of a patient. That investigation was a first of many in that facility involving several graduates of the local Law School and those who cared for the “unfortunates of society”. The next chapters detailed the history of all three institutions, the people involved and their changes by 1960.   

My journey in writing this book started in the early 1970’s when I, employed at Eastern State Hospital as a psychologist, stopped to talk to several members of the maintenance Department at that facility. They were cleaning out a closet next to the Superintendent’s office. The maintenance employees had been told to eliminate old unknown documents in that closet. They were concerned about throwing away documents dated in the 1800’s without any evaluation of them.  I reluctantly agreed to accept the documents into my office until I had time to review and determine if they were important.     

Later, I discovered that the documents were the original history of the Kentucky Lunatic Asylum currently called Eastern State Hospital in Lexington.  Dr. Gregg and Ms. Moore had carefully researched and packaged the documents to be preserved.  I often shiver at how close those documents came to being destroyed which has happened to many state mental hospital histories. That started a process for me of adding to that history throughout my 28 years of employment at Eastern State Hospital.  I joined the history division of the American Psychological Association and participated in discussions related to histories of Mental Hospitals and Psychology.  I expected to complete a book on the History of Eastern State Hospital by the time I retired from ESH.  That did not happen because publishers viewed the market for that book to be too limited.

After retirement, I was fortunate to research and write several books on local histories and grew in my knowledge about publishing books.  Later, I reevaluated the data that I had on Eastern State Hospital and realized that my research revealed more than just that one facility, it included families of several generations associated with both the medical and law schools of Lexington, Ky.  My book was rewritten and it was published in 2005.

While this is a Kentucky history based book, it has another appeal as part of the historical process in caring for the mentally ill in America.  It is a history that grew from the local and academic influences of its unique history into American psychiatric care. While many American Mental hospitals reflect a unique background while attempting to follow national standards of care, they were often overwhelmed by the conditions of local politics and overcrowding in the early 1900’s.  That process is often ignored but that was part of American psychiatric history.  Kentucky now has their history of Psychiatric care documented as there is a growing acceptance of these types of Institutional histories.