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In this episode, we’ll talk with Christina Vida from the Valentine Museum in Richmond, Va, who talks about Frances Branch Scott, founder of Sheltering Arms Hospital, who organized a meeting in her home in 1909 to address the lack of quality treatment for tuberculosis patients in Richmond. And we’ll hear about what preceded Pine Camp.

In the late 19th century, the 160 acres along the northern border of the city of Richmond was known as the City Farm or City Jail Farm. Later on, Richmonders who were battling contagious diseases, including smallpox and tuberculosis, were isolated on the property.

But because this was the post Civil War South and the Jim Crow era, only white patients were treated (pause) until eventually a separate house was built for the city’s Black population. When vaccinations were finally able to stem the diseases, the land and buildings began to take on new life. And while the whites only building remained, the Black ward was torn down.

It’s here where mysteries are being uncovered and the history of those patients and the land itself is being rediscovered. And it’s here where the land is taking on a new life which will allow new stories to emerge.

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History Reinvented is created solely by me, Ian Stewart. I’m a freelance journalist, and a longtime, former public radio reporter. I’ve got no sponsors at this time–so, if you’d like to sponsor this podcast series, let me know.

Be sure to check out my other podcast, called The Mechanics of Transportation in which I talk to local Richmond and national experts about all things transportation. And, if you like music, check out Ian’s World O’ Music show on Mixcloud. For 17 years, I had a world music show on a local public radio station.

Plus, you can always look for my freelance work on outlets like Virginia Mercury, The Richmonder, Richmond Magazine and on the podcast Full Disclosure with Roben Farzad–

History Reinvented is a Big Soap Production.

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History Reinvented is a Big Soap Production.
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