Famous Authoress at Fishkill Landing Sanitarium

When you think about old sanitariums once in Beacon, Craig House Hospital (1915-2000) comes first to mind. But one local sanitarium for nervous disorders, addictions and mental illness dates back even further, to 1870--the Riverview Sanitarium of Fishkill on Hudson. The sanitarium was located on Ferry Street (the building and the street both long gone, victims of Urban Renewal), and over the years had several doctor-owners, all specializing in psychiatry. One such doctor, William Scollay Whitwell, brought to the sanitarium perhaps the most famous patient ever treated there ...

Dr. Whitwell (1846-1903) was a graduate of Harvard Medical School who had a practice in New York City and also owned the Riverview Sanitarium here in Beacon in the 1890s until his death in 1903. In April of 1902, Whitwell began treating famed authoress Francess Hodgson Burnett, whose children's books (Little Lord Fauntleroy, The Secret Garden, and many more) were best sellers here in America and in her native England. Burnett had come to New York to escape a failed second marriage and was suffering from severe headaches and crippling muscle pains. Dr. Whitwell sent her to Riverview to treat her "neuritis" with complete rest. Burnett stayed here from early April to mid-May of 1902, and gradually began writing again during her stay. A New York Times article of April 24th, 1902, describes her remarkable recovery:

"The authoress selects a spot near the sanitarium, where she delights to write. She has renewed her work on the book and play she started before leaving England."

The play she worked on here in Beacon most likely was "A Little Princess," which opened in England that December and later (in 1905) appeared in book form.

The restorative powers of Beacon's mountain and river scenery worked its wonders and brought back the creativity and health of a famous author.