The Pine Tree Sanitarium, now known as Country
Meadows Apartments on route 109 in Wells, received worldwide publicity
with its first patient in 1909.
New York physician Dr. Frederick A. Cook claimed
to have been the first to stand at the axis of Earth's rotation on April 21,
1908. Forced to winter in an underground den at Cape Sparbo, Canada after
leaving the Pole, Cook’s declaration was delayed until September 1, 1909.
Five days after Cook announced his accomplishment Mainer Robert Peary
reported that he had been the first to reach the geographic North Pole on
April 6, 1909. Peary launched an all out assault on Cook's veracity. Cook
defended himself with allegations that Peary had stolen his notes from an
associate. The controversy was good for newspaper sales. The New York
Herald paid Cook $3000 for a written account of his expedition to be printed
it in twelve segments under the headline Conquest of the Pole.
The New York Times supported Peary's claims and printed every disparaging
remark he made about his rival. Dr Cook's proofs were to be examined by
scientists at the University of Copenhagen for authenticity during December
of 1909. While he awaited the verdict Dr. Cook wished to avoid the press.
Planting conflicting reports of his whereabouts Cook slipped off to Wells
Depot Maine becoming the first patient of the newly opened Pine Tree
Sanitarium.
Deeds recorded at the York County Court House in
Alfred indicate that Eva Pitt of Boston purchased the old George Hatch
homestead on Sanford Road, Wells Depot in 1907. She and her husband Dr.
Thomas Smith Pitt opened the Pine Tree Sanitarium for business in November
of 1909. Seeing the name of their new sanitarium appear in newspapers
worldwide as the reputed hiding place of elusive explorer Dr. Frederick A.
Cook, the new business owners were conflicted. They certainly intended to
protect the privacy of their patients. All their ads promised they would
but when a reporter for the Portsmouth Daily Herald appeared at her door on
November 30, 1909 Eva Pitt could not bring herself to discourage him
entirely. "I'm not saying that he hasn't been here" she said "They'll have
hard work to find him as we are well fitted here to take care of just such
cases." Sightings of Dr. Cook were also reported in Philadelphia and in New
York. Just as attention to the Wells sanitarium was dying down and other
hiding places were being suggested by the press a New York Times reporter
tracked Dr. T. S. Pitt down at the train station in Boston on December 9.
"I am tired of this badgering. Dr. Cook is at the Pine Tree suffering from
nervous breakdown, but is steadily on the mend. I am running a sanitarium
at Wells, not a news-distributing bureau and I am tired of being pursued by
reporters." Wells Depot citizens also had their say in the papers. With a
population of about 200 people and one road in and out of the village
strangers in town were rarely missed. Uriah A. Caine, telegraph operator
and Boston and Maine Rail Road employee, recognized the explorer when he got
off the train at Wells Beach from the pictures in the newspaper. Dr.
Cook hired Earl York to drive him to the sanitarium. Earl tried to engage
him in conversation but the Doctor hid his identity under a large fur
overcoat. Mr. Hilton, the sanitarium’s nearest neighbor, watched the
carriage pass his house and discharge its passenger at Pine Tree. "The
patient has a room on the second floor and he went to bed at 9 o'clock" said
Caine, who spent the evening of November 29 at the sanitarium.
The news from Copenhagen was not good. Dr.
Frederick A. Cook was discredited and Peary was celebrated as a hero. Cook
fled the country in shame but the controversy about who first set foot at
the North Pole rages on to this day.
Dr. Thomas S. Pitt and his wife Eva made
national news again in 1919 when they testified at the murder trial of the
Reverend Henry Hall. The minister was accused of pushing his wife off the
rail road bridge at Wells Depot and into the Little River. But that is a
story for another column.
The Pitts ran the sanitarium until 1932 when
another news report put them out of business. Dr. Pitt was one of only
eight physicians in the country reported by the Federal Trade Commission to
have treated patients with experimental Radium Water. The resulting
radiation poisoning proved deadly for one unfortunate Pittsburgh man and the
careers of seven physicians.
Sharon Cummins is an historical research
professional in Southern Maine. She can be reached by email at sharonlynn@roadrunner.com
Sanitarium's first patient Dr. Frederick A Cook
allegedly at the North Pole April 21, 1908.
Photos Courtesy of the Library of Congress
Peary vs Cook
Who reached the North Pole first?
Frederick A. Cook in 1908 or Robert E. Peary in 1909?
Most likely
neither ever reached the
geographic North Pole. Peary was awarded a Rear Admiral's pension for
his efforts while Cook was disgraced eventually going to prison for selling
bogus oil stocks. Read the whole story
here
Time Magazine announced
to the world in April on 1932 that Dr. Pitt was one of
seven physicians who had used the deadly poison on patients. Dr. Gustave Desy was another. He was a friend and
colleague of Dr.
Pitt from his earlier years as a Boston physician.
This film clip from
describes the ways that radium
water was administered.
The Pitt Family of Wells Depot, ME
Thomas Smith Pitt was born in
St. Johns New Brunswick, Canada in the Portland District 5 July1859 to Hannah
Pitt and
Thomas Pitt married Sadie Shaw
of Woodstock, NB in 1890. Thomas practiced medicine while he and Sadie lived in Boston.
Sadie died in 1893 at
35 yrs (scroll to
Carleton
Sentinel Newspaper Feb 18, 1893 In Memoriam The
sudden and unexpected
death of Mrs. Dr. T. S. Pitt)
Thomas
married
Eva
Whiting Winslow in 1899 she was born 22 Feb 1862 in Oxford, MA
Thomas Pitt may have been
married before Sadie because in 1901 census in NB a Bertie Pitt is living in the
household with Thomas and Eva. Bertie is called D(aughter). She was
born 25 Apr 1885
Eva purchased the Wells Depot
homestead of George Hatch in 1907 with financial assistance from her step-mother
Caroline Whiting. York Co Deeds
Mr
and Mrs. Stover have gone to Wells where Mr. Stover is building a house for Dr.
Pitt.Portsmouth
Daily Herald October 22, 1909
Stover
was actually hired to renovate the old homestead and fit it up as The Pine Tree
Sanitarium later known as Pine Tree Health Resort. The name of Wells Depot
was changed to High Pines in the 1920s per Wells Historian Hope Shelley in her
wonderful book,
Images of America: Wells.
Thanks in part to early
publicity, the sanitarium was a financial
success and in April of 1913 Eva purchased a lot from John W. Hatch adjoining
the Wells Depot train station. She started the Pitt Soap & Chemical Co on
the lot. Eva was at her soap factory on June 11, 1918 from where she could
see the train tracks crossing the Little River. She and Dr. Thomas Pitt
testified at the murder trial of Rev. Henry H. Hall, accused of pushing his wife
off that railroad bridge.
In 1932 the sanitarium was
closed. The Pitts moved to Oxford, MA where Eva grew up. Thomas
practiced medicine there. Eva was proprietor of the Central Tea House and
Gas Station in Oxford, MA.
The Pine Tree Sanitarium is now
Country Meadows Apartments 2124
Sanford Road Wells, ME 04090
New York Times (1857-Current file); New York,
N.Y. (0362-4331)
Dec 10, 1909. p.3
WELLS DEPOT, Me., Dec. 9. -- If Dr.
Frederick A. Cook, the arctic explorer is here, nobody
can be found in the town who will admit it. At the Pine
Tree Sanitarium to-day, the utmost mystery was made over
reports that have gone around that the doctor is a
patient there.
New York Times (1857-Current file); New York,
N.Y. (0362-4331)
Dec 9, 1909. p.1
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Dec. 8. -- There is no
doubt that Dr. Cook, the arctic explorer, is in the
satitarium at Wells, Me. This is based on the statement
of Dr. T.S. Pitt, who visited in Boston last week and
stopped for two days at the home of George Whitefield
D'Vys, the writer.
New York Times (1857-Current file); New York, N.Y.
(0362-4331)
Dec 11, 1909. p.10
Only three theories are possible as to Dr. COOK:
(1) that he went to the north pole at the time and in the way he
asserts: (2) that he made the journey he describes, but, from
errors in his calculations, did not reach the goal he thought he
had reached: (3) that he is an impostor.
New York Times (1857-Current file); New York, N.Y.
(0362-4331)
Dec 10, 1909. p.3
Dr. Cook was seen in Brooklyn, he was recovering
from a nervous breakdown at a remote sanitarium in Maine, he was
in Copenhagen, he was in Philadelphia, and it was oven rumored
that after all he was at Muldoon's, near White Plains, all at
the same time yesterday. Never in the history of arctic,
antarctic.
New York Times (1857-Current file); New York, N.Y.
(0362-4331)
Dec 9, 1909. p.1
THE NEW YORK TIMES presents herewith the
remarkable narratives of two men, made under oath, declaring
that they were employed by Dr. Frederick A. Cook to fabricate
astronomical and other observations for submission to the
University of Copenhagen, which is about to pass upon Dr. Cook's
assertion that he discovered the north pole on April 21, 1908.
New York Times (1857-Current file); New York, N.Y.
(0362-4331)
Nov 22, 1909. p.1
Under a strong guard, the voluminous report
prepared by Dr. Frederick A. Cook for the University of
Copenhagen, setting forth in detail the explorer's claim to
having reached the north pole, will be taken on board of the
Scandinavian-American liner United States on Thanksgiving Day
and started on its way to Copenhagen.
New York Times (1857-Current file); New York, N.Y.
(0362-4331)
Nov 5, 1909. p.1
COPENHAGEN, Nov. 4. -- Although the Danes
continue to profess confidence in Dr. Frederick A. Cook, it is
evident that they are growing uneasy, particularly since Dr.
Cook's unsatisfactory reply to Prof. Torp's query as to when his
observations would be ready for inspection has been received
here.
New York Times (1857-Current file); New York, N.Y.
(0362-4331)
Sep 22, 1909. p.1
Amid shrieking whistles and tumultuous cheers,
Dr. Frederick A. Cook returned home yesterday on the Oscar II,
from his two years' absence in the arctic. From the moment the
explorer in the morning stepped from the steamer to the small
tug in which his wife had gone down the bay to meet him until
long after nightfall Dr. Cook was hailed by his admirers as the
discoverer of the north pole, and a homecoming welcome was
accorded to him the sincerity of which could not be doubted.
NEW YORK, Sept 8--"It is with great reluctance that I can only say that Dr Frederick A. Cook has not made a satisfactory explanation or submitted corroborative evidence that he has made the ascent of Mt McKinley."
NORTH SYDNEY, Cape Breton, Sept 7--Unfavorable weather conditions in the strait of Belle Isle which are reported by wireless stations have hampered the progress of the steamer Roosevelt, which is bearing the Peary expedtion southward. It is not known hen the steamer will reach Chateau bay, which is just north of the northeast entrance of the strait.
COPENHAGEN,
Sept
7--"By
going
much
farther
to the
east
than I
did,
Commander
Peary
has cut
out of
the
unknown
an
enormous
space
which,
of
course,
will be
vastly
useful
and
scientifically
interesting."
LONDON, Sept
7--The Reuter
telegram company
publishes a
dispatch from St
Johns, N F, in
which it is said
that Commander
Peary claims
that he was the
first man to
reach the north
pole.
COPENHAGEN, Sept 7--"By
going much farther to
the east than I did,
Commander Peary has cut
out of the unknown an
enormous space which, of
course, will be vastly
useful and
scientifically
interesting."
New York Times (1857-Current file); New York, N.Y.
(0362-4331)
Sep 5, 1909. p.1
COPENHAGEN, Sept. 4. -- Dr. Frederick A.
Cook stepped from the steamer Hans Egede in
Copenhagen Harbor on the arm of the Crown
Prince of Denmark at 10 o'clock this morning
unshorn and looking like a sailor before the
mast. He sat down to dinner at 8 o'clock
this evening in the City Hall, the guest of
a brilliant company of the capital's most
distinguished men and women, arrayed in
evening dress provided by the King's tailor.
New York Times (1857-Current file); New York, N.Y.
(0362-4331)
Sep 4, 1909. p.2
WASHINGTON, Sept. 3. -- Plans were formulated
to-day to secure the attendance at the National
banquet of the National Geographic Society in
this city next December of the two famous
explorers of the polar regions, Dr. Cook and
Lieut. Shackleton.
Special Cable to THE NEW YORK TIMESDispatch to The
London Daily Mail..
New York Times (1857-Current file); New York, N.Y.
(0362-4331)
Sep 4, 1909. p.1
COPENHAGEN, Sept. 3. -- Dr. Frederick A. Cook
adheres resolutely to his assertion that he
discovered the north pole on April 21, 1908. To
a party of Copenhagen journalists who went to
the Skaw, the northernmost point of Denmark,
last night for the purpose of intercepting the
steamer Hans Egede, Dr. Cook declined to
elaborate his tale of his adventures, hardships,
and discovery.
New York Times (1857-Current file); New York, N.Y.
(0362-4331)
Sep 4, 1909. p.2
SKAGEN, Denmark, Sept. 3. -- Newspaper
correspondents who went on board the Hans Egede
to-day from the pilot steamer off here were able
to obtain a few words with Dr. Frederick A.
Cook.
New York Times (1857-Current file); New York, N.Y.
(0362-4331)
Sep 4, 1909. p.2
That there was real value to science in Dr.
Frederick A. Cook's dash for the north pole was
declared yesterday by scientific men. The
reported discovery of the pole was still the
most widely discussed topic in the city, but the
trend of speculation took a new line -- no
longer whether the report was true or not, but
what good the discovery would do to mankind.
New York Times (1857-Current file); New York,
N.Y. (0362-4331)
Sep 4, 1909. p.2
WASHINGTON, Sept. 3. -- Dr. R.S.
Woodward, President of the Carnegie
Institution of Washington, thinks the
chief interest attaching to the
discovery of the north pole by Dr. Cook
is of the sporting sort.
New York Times (1857-Current
file); New York, N.Y.
(0362-4331)
Sep 3, 1909. p.2
ROME, Sept. 2. -- The
Duke of the Abruzzi,
since his own arctic
expedition in 1900, has
been keenly interested
in polar exploration,
and before he left for
the Himalaya mountains
he expressed the opinion
that Dr. Frederick A.
Cook was "perhaps the
man destined to
accomplish this great
feat, which may be the
greatest achievement of
the twentieth century."
SOUTH
HARSWELL,
Me, Sept
2-Modest
to a
marked
degree
and
shunning
the
publicity
which
has been
so
suddenly
thrust
upon her
by the
remarkable
achievement
of her
husband,
Mrs
Frederick
A. Cook,
wife of
the...
DR FREDERICK A COOK'S
announcement that he has
discovered the north
pole has set the world
agog. According to the
cable, the date of the
discovery was April 21,
1908. The world has done
a...
COPENHAGEN, Sept 2--Dr Frederick
A. Cook's credit stands so high
with Danish polar experts that
the first message announcing his
success in reaching the north
pole, meager as it was, was
accepted as conclusive.
New York Times (1857-Current
file); New York, N.Y.
(0362-4331)
Sep 3, 1909. p.2
Men whose scientific
researches have led them
into investigations of
the phenomena of the
polar regions hold
different views as to
the genuineness of Dr.
Cook's exploit. While
some are inclined to
dispute the discovery of
the pole, others accept
it as the trum, while
still others hold that
incontestable evidence
of scientific value must
be furnished before the
report can be accepted
as an established fact.
The views of prominent
scientists follow:
New York Times
(1857-Current
file); New York,
N.Y. (0362-4331)
Sep 3, 1909. p.2
LONDON,
Sept. 2.
-- After
reading
a brief
summary
of Dr.
Frederick
A.
Cook's
account
of his
dash to
the
north
pole,
Lieut.
Ernest
H.
Shackleton,
who
recently
led an
expedition
to the
south
polar
regions,
said
that
nobody
nad any
right to
be
skeptical.
There
was
nothing
in the
explorer's
statements
but what
was
possible
after he
got
within
200
miles of
the
pole,
and
after
reaching
the
pole,
and
after
getting
back to
solid
land,
there
was
nothing
to
prevent
Dr. Cook
living
with the
Eskimos
until
this
year.
New York Times (1857-Current
file); New York, N.Y.
(0362-4331)
Sep 2, 1909. p.3
CAMBRIDGE, Mass.,
Sept. 1. -- Unless
important
meteorological,
geological, and
geographical
observations have
been made by Dr.
Frederick A. Cook in
his reported
discovery of the
North Pole. Prof.
William H. Picker
describes the ways that radium
water was administered.