This site has been created by me, Kathy Dettwyler, to keep track of my research on the Delaware State (mental) Hospital at Farnhurst, Delaware, 1894-1920, as well as my research on current and former cemeteries for the indigent in New Castle County, including the Delaware State Hospital Cemetery -- the "Spiral Cemetery" with 778 memorials, in use from 1891 to 1983, and the New Castle County Hospital (almshouse)/Farnhurst Potter's Field Cemetery -- the "Cemetery in the Woods" with 3,098 memorials, in use from 1885 to 1933, as well as the Boulden Blvd. Potter's Field, the Moore's Lane Potter's Field, and the Baylor Potter's Field.
My book on the most interesting/fascinating/heartbreaking/inspirational stories from the Delaware State Hospital ledgers, Remembering Farnhurst: Stories from the Delaware State Hospital, 1894-1920, was published in 2019. It contains over 200 case studies of patients at the hospital, combining information from the ledgers, ancestors and descendants from www.ancestry.com and www.familysearch.org, and newspaper articles about the individual from www.newspapers.com, as well as other sources of information. It can be ordered from www.amazon.com If anyone has comments or suggestions, please contact me at [email protected]
My book on the most interesting/fascinating/heartbreaking/inspirational stories about people buried in the New Castle County Hospital/Farnhurst Potter's Field Cemetery, is nearing completion, and will be published sometime in late 2026 or 2027 --
The Cemetery in the Woods at Farnhurst: Being a brief history and description of the historic New Castle County Hospital (Almshouse) Cemetery and Farnhurst Potter’s Field from its opening in 1885 to its closing in 1933, followed by demographic analyses of the 3,092 individuals known to be buried there and their causes of death, including dead babies, railroad accidents, floaters, judicial and extrajudicial executions, homicides, suicides, accidents, old age, diseases, and the great Spanish Influenza Epidemic of 1918; and presenting some of the remarkable stories behind their fascinating and complicated lives. Also, recent efforts to clean up and restore the small section of the cemetery still accessible in the woods off of Baylor Blvd. (the rest being buried deep under the I-295 connector from I-95 to the Delaware Memorial Bridge) will be described.
“Final haven for the friendless, the unknown, and the derelict. Flotsam and jetsam, human driftwood on the sea of life, here they rest at last, crowded closely together in the tiny area, as if even in death the living begrudge room for the unfortunate.” [Delmarva Star, 3/19/1933]
My book on the most interesting/fascinating/heartbreaking/inspirational stories from the Delaware State Hospital ledgers, Remembering Farnhurst: Stories from the Delaware State Hospital, 1894-1920, was published in 2019. It contains over 200 case studies of patients at the hospital, combining information from the ledgers, ancestors and descendants from www.ancestry.com and www.familysearch.org, and newspaper articles about the individual from www.newspapers.com, as well as other sources of information. It can be ordered from www.amazon.com If anyone has comments or suggestions, please contact me at [email protected]
My book on the most interesting/fascinating/heartbreaking/inspirational stories about people buried in the New Castle County Hospital/Farnhurst Potter's Field Cemetery, is nearing completion, and will be published sometime in late 2026 or 2027 --
The Cemetery in the Woods at Farnhurst: Being a brief history and description of the historic New Castle County Hospital (Almshouse) Cemetery and Farnhurst Potter’s Field from its opening in 1885 to its closing in 1933, followed by demographic analyses of the 3,092 individuals known to be buried there and their causes of death, including dead babies, railroad accidents, floaters, judicial and extrajudicial executions, homicides, suicides, accidents, old age, diseases, and the great Spanish Influenza Epidemic of 1918; and presenting some of the remarkable stories behind their fascinating and complicated lives. Also, recent efforts to clean up and restore the small section of the cemetery still accessible in the woods off of Baylor Blvd. (the rest being buried deep under the I-295 connector from I-95 to the Delaware Memorial Bridge) will be described.
“Final haven for the friendless, the unknown, and the derelict. Flotsam and jetsam, human driftwood on the sea of life, here they rest at last, crowded closely together in the tiny area, as if even in death the living begrudge room for the unfortunate.” [Delmarva Star, 3/19/1933]