New Hospital Exhibit at Fort Davis National Historic Site

After more than five years in the works, and the result of many hours worked, and generous donations given, Fort Davis National Historic Site opened their new hospital exhibit this week.

From the Fort's publicity on the exhibit:

"The Post Surgeon’s Office is now completely furnished as a functional doctor’s office of the 1880s.  Visitors can see the examining table, medical instruments, and medications of the day, along with the physician’s reference and diagnostic tools of the day: a skeleton, a microscope, and copious volumes of leather-bound books.

In the Hospital Steward’s room, put yourself in the doctor’s shoes.  Check out the large interactive display of old-time medical instruments and what problems they treated, such as brain bleed or removal of tonsils.  Nearby “The Wheel of Misfortune” game allows viewers to select a disease and try to guess what medication doctors commonly gave for that illness---such as mercury pills for consumption (TB).

These displays reveal case studies of actual patients treated at the fort, drawn from historical U.S. Army medical records in the National Archives.  The exhibits offer park visitors knowledge of how medicine was practiced at the frontier army post of Fort Davis in the late 19^th century.  Bring the family to the fort to see this insightful display. 

The park is open daily 8-5; for more info on the park, see www.nps.gov/foda.   The Friends of Fort Davis NHS continues to support various efforts at the fort like the ongoing hospital restoration project; to become a member of this organization, see www.ffdnhs.org/"