THE HOSPITAL HISTORY PROJECT
SOURCES
Below is a master list of all sources cited or consulted for the Hospital History Project. For ease of reference, we have arranged the list by source type. We encourage you to treat these materials as a jumping off point to pursue your own deeper engagement with the Hospital's history.
Direct links have been provided to all online open-source materials.
Annual Reports
Each year the Inspector of Prisons & Public Charities compiled an annual report summarizing patient demographics, financial standings, and major changes or events that took place over the year at each of the asylums in the province. Submitted to the provincial Lieutenant Governor and published among the Legislative Assembly papers, the Inspector's report also included annual reports compiled for each asylum by their respective superintendents.
The annual reports of Ontario's asylum superintendents likewise summarized population rates and capacity at each institution, patient demographics, assigned causes of insanity, and rates of discharge or death. They also discussed patient labour, institutional expenditures, construction projects, notable events that occurred over the year, and the needs of the institution. From these individual reports, the Inspector would summarize provincial trends and provide inter-institutional comparisons.
These public records provide a primary source by which we can piece together the history of the Mimico Asylum and its relationship to neighbouring institutions across the province.
Read the list of annual reports consulted for the Hospital History Project.
Cover page of the "Twenty-first Annual Report of the Inspector of Prisons & Public Charities for the Province of Ontario, being for the year ending 30th September, 1888."
Other Government Reports
1871-1872: Return re: the Agricultural Farm purchase, Ontario Sessional Papers.
1880: Return re: the Mimico Farm purchase, Ontario Sessional Papers.
Newspapers
To date, our newspaper research has focused on the archives of two Toronto-based newspapers: The Globe and The Toronto Star. Both of these databases were accessed through the ProQuest Historical Newspaper Database. Although accessed online, the database requires a subscription or library login so we have not linked to any article directly.
A complete list of the newspaper articles consulted as part of the Hospital History Project is available on a Google Sheet. Each tab in the document represents a decade of articles. Note that we are still adding to the list regularly; please let us know if you note any errors or omissions.
The articles provide insight into the news that caught the attention of the public, often detailing elements that were summarized all-too-briefly in governmental reports.
On the "to do" list for the future of the Hospital History Project is a careful examination of the local Etobicoke papers.
Article headline that appeared in the Toronto Daily Star on 25 July 1905.
The Hospital History Project records ongoing research focused on the history of the Lakeshore Psychiatric Hospital. Content is currently being added on a decade-by-decade basis.
For an update on the project, please visit the project's home page.
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