History of Medicine Resource Guide
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The Albert Gore, Sr., Research Center at Middle Tennessee State University has numerous individual collections that contain documents relevant to the history of medicine and public health in Tennessee, especially in Rutherford County. An attempt has been made to include a description for every pertinent document or group of documents regarding this topic. The Gore Center strongly encourages anyone interested in the history of medicine in Rutherford County to visit and examine all of our available materials.
The following collections contain varying degrees of materials on the medicine and public health. Some, such as the Hoover Collection, are quite extensive. Others, like the Tennessee State Fire Training School Collection, contain only a single item. The links that are offered are the general scope and content information that one can also find on the Albert Gore, Sr. Research Center's home page. A more comprehensive listing of each Collection's documents can be found by referencing its series description.
The Adgent Collections consists of materials collected by the Adgent and Harber families of Marshall County, including a Senior Hospital Indemnity Policy (1946) and pamphlets on Health distributed to members of 4-H and the Home Demonstration Club.
Bill Boner Collection The Boner Collection contains correspondence and notes concerning legislation and committee work during Congressman Boner's service as a Representative from the Fifth Tennessee Congressional District, (1983 - 1988). Medical and public health topics addressed in this collection include:
The Bragg Collection consists of correspondence and other textual documentation of Representative Bragg's service in the Tennessee General Assembly and in the leadership of the National Council of State Legislatures. Within the collection are letters, articles, government journals, newspaper clippings, and a large compilation of information on state legislation. Representative Bragg played an instrumental role in the passage of Tennessee's Child restraint legislation, the first of its kind in the nation. Medical and public health topics addressed in this collection include:
The Community Collection contains medical books recovered from the old Rutherford Health Building vacated when the new Rutherford County Health Department opened. These books were used as part of the community outreach programs:
The collection also contains a book of home remedies, a 1992 Directory of Community Services, including health services for Rutherford County, and two publications History of Medicine in Rutherford County, Tennessee. Part I of the History of Medicine contains an introduction and overview of the history of medicine in Rutherford County. Part II includes biographies of nineteenth century physicians who practiced here.
This collection includes several medical booklets that belonged to Dr. J.J. Rucker, a nineteenth century physician who was part of the Rutherford County Medical Society. Most of the booklets were published between 1906-1909 and cover topics such as diseases and sterility in women, prevention of venereal disease in the Navy, chronic alcoholism, intestinal infections of children, and therapeutics.
Former Governor Buford Ellington's political career spanned nearly 25 years, including his 1948 election to the state legislature, his role as Commissioner of Agriculture under Governor Frank Clement, and his two terms as governor from 1959-1963 and 1967-1971. Ellington's papers include notes and legislative materials on Medicaid, environmental health, drug abuse, health law, emergency planning, and Tennessee Department of Mental Health.
Kerr Drug Store Collection The Kerr Collection consists of ledgers, day books, inventory listings, and drug directories dating from 1930 to 1972. The Kerr Collection also contains an invoice book from 1886 and an undated book of typed and hand-written pharmacy remedies.
In the 1980's the Rutherford Courier featured King's weekly op/ed column entitled "Things Past and Present." Two health related topics addressed by King include Kerr's Drug Store and early bathing techniques.
This collection contains information on the League's safe drinking water project and health care forum. It also contains notes on various health care issues.
Bertha Licker, one of the three Licker sisters, was active in the American Red Cross. She served as a Red Cross "Gray Lady." This collection contains pamphlets collected during Bertha's involvement with the Red Cross.
McFarland was a journalist, community volunteer and Middle Tennessee State University supporter. This collection contains a letter from the American Red Cross thanking McFarland for his service on the home front during World War II.
MTSU Collections
Socrates Pinto, oral history interview MT0216 Dr. Pinto, a Cuban native, attended medical school in Cuba, completed his surgical residency at Nashville General Hospital [now Metro Nashville General Hospital], and served as physician at the Smyrna Hospital. The following is an excerpt in which Dr. Pinto explains how he arrived in Smyrna after receiving his license to practice medicine in the United States:
A full transcript and audio tape of the interview is available at the Albert Gore, Sr. Research Center.
Mabel and Homer Pittard Collection This collection contains correspondence, notes, and newspaper clipping pertaining to the Rutherford County Red Cross chapter. It also contains a copy of the chapter's 1917 charter.
Rutherford Hospital
The Albert Gore, Sr. Research Center also houses a compilation of
information on the history of the Rutherford Hospital. Materials
include a student paper, photos, newspaper articles, published journal
articles, an entry in the Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture, an
additional copy of
the History of Medicine in Rutherford County, Part I by Robert G. Ransom,
M.D.
Smyrna Hospital Auxiliary Collection The Smyrna Hospital Auxiliary held annual membership teas, teas to welcome new doctors to the hospital, and organized an annual fundraiser, the Christmas bazaar, to purchase new equipment for the Smyrna Hospital. The collection covers the organization's activities during the period from 1968 to 1984. The collection materials include financial reports, a hospital disaster plan, job descriptions, minutes, a newsletter, and a scrapbook.
Tennessee State Fire Training School Collection This collection contains Rescue Techniques and Operations, a technical manual published by the Federal Civil Defense Administration in 1953. The manual contains medical instructions for stabling patients and on-the-scene care.
Walter King Hoover was an avid collector of regional memorabilia, including
druggists' logbooks, records from the Smyrna Medical Society, and compiled
histories on local physicians.
Bob Womack Collection Bob Womack is a professor in the Educational Leadership Department at Middle Tennessee State University and is recognized for his expertise on the Civil War. This collection includes research, and lecture notes related to Civil War medicine, embalming, and women's involvement in Civil War health care. This collection also includes Civil War era correspondence to an Alabama physician.
Other Tennessee repositories and publications
Gore Center Links
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