PAST TENSE
Taking the Cure Yarnall Institute treated ‘liquor-cursed men’ By Michele Fecht
I
n 1892, the Eagle Steam Printing & Engraving Company — a local printing operation housed on East Main Street — published a marketing pamphlet titled, “Northville: The Ideal Suburban Village.” It was a handsome piece of publicity for the little village known as the Switzerland of Wayne County due to its abundant hills. The pamphlet’s detailed engravings offered eye-candy for
station stop on the Flint and Pere Marquette railway. It also gave full-page coverage to the community’s newest establishment — the Yarnall Gold Cure Institute — an “institution for the rational treatment and radical cure of the alcohol, opium, cocaine, tobacco and cigarette habits.” The Northville institute would be the first and most successful of Yarnall’s treatment facilities, sustaining a nearly 25-year following of men seeking “the cure.”
CONTENTIOUS BEGINNINGS
Dr. William H. Yarnall (Yarnall Estate Collection. All rights reserved.)
any prospective buyer seeking “beautiful rolling country and magnificent subterranean springs . . . where forest trees afford ample shade from the noon day sun.” If Northville’s bucolic setting wasn’t enough of a lure, the booklet highlighted, the community’s manufacturing prowess (church and school furniture, refrigerators, dowels, condensed milk) and its charming downtown with a large and varied mercantile, a first-rate hotel, an opera house (!) and a
24 The ‘Ville
In 1879, Dr. Leslie Keeley, in partnership with chemist John Oughton, discovered a treatment for alcoholism using injections of bicholoride of gold. These treatments — though deemed controversial by some in the medical community — resulted in the establishment of the Keeley Institute in Dwight, Illinois, and eventually the expansion of treatment centers throughout the country. In late 1891, Keeley set his sights on Northville. He purchased the Italianate-style home at 404 West Main Street — one of the community’s most distinguished residences — from J. Morrell Simmons. Dr. William H. Yarnall, a physician from Saginaw, was named as medical director. The community rallied in anticipation of the Keeley Institute opening. A committee comprised of Northville Record editor Frank S. Neal and prominent merchants
B.A. Wheeler and T.G. Richardson encouraged residents to open their homes to house “gold cure” patients during treatment. Neighboring communities joined in the enthusiasm. South Lyon’s Excelsior newspaper quipped: “South Lyon has ripe subjects for the Keeley Institute. If Northville will send over her ambulance, we’ll load ‘em in.” In the midst of the anticipation, there was contention in the management ranks of the institute. On March 10, 1892, The Northville Record reported that “Dr. W. H. Yarnall, surgeon-in-chief at the Keeley Institute here since its start, was asked to resign last week and Dr. Poole of Detroit has the appointment in his stead.” Three days later, on March 13th, the Detroit Free Press reported, “Dr. W. H. Yarnall of Saginaw, is about to begin suit against the Keeley Institute Company for $20,000 damages for breach of contract. He claims the company contracted with him to act as superintendent of the institute for five years.” Within weeks, a settlement was reached. On April 1, 1892, the Yarnall Gold Cure Company was organized, and by month’s end the facility — housed in the same former Simmons’ residence — hosted a public open house and began accepting patients. Dr. William Yarnall was medical director and general manager, and Dr. Thaddeus Ball was resident physician. Dr. Leslie Keeley had moved on to Ypsilanti.
GOOD AS GOLD Yarnall’s treatment methods were similar to his predecessor, though he emphasized that the injection fluid was his own discovery and not the same as that of Dr. Keeley. Formulas for the gold cure were a well-kept secret. Like Keeley, Yarnall emphasized that addiction was a disease, not a moral failing. He also guarded his patients’ confidentiality going so far as to mail literature and brochures in plain envelopes with no return address noted. The comfortable surroundings of the Northville institute were a reflection of Yarnall’s philosophy. The large two and half-story Main Street structure contained a secretary’s office and reception area near the entrance. The treatment rooms were in the back of the facility. The second story contained smoking, card and writing rooms, though smoking would later be prohibited during treatment. The rooms were described as “handsomely papered and finished in hardwood, the walls adorned with pictures.” “These patients had more the appearance of guests of a summer hotel rather than of persons under treatment for disease,” noted a Detroit Free Press writer upon touring the facility. Patients were given considerable liberties with the only guidelines being to report four times a day for injections, to bathe every second or third day and to change underwear twice a week. Cost for the gold cure was $50 for three weeks of alcohol treatment