Note: Please check back often for  updates to this site. For information on  how you can help email: Margie Campbell Saving Graves CALIFORNIA  SITE LINKS   Welcome To: San Joaquin County, CA Website For: Saving Graves Click on the above link to go to the Saving Graves main website Stockton Weekly Mail  January 16, 1897 An Old Dissecting Room In Which the Bodies of Insane Patients Were Cut Up A Story of the Past Which Has Been Revived by the Finding of Remains There The old dissecting room in the second story of the building at the northeast corner of California and Main Streets was broken open a few days ago, and some human remains were found.  The place was written up by the Mail two or three years ago, but it was not until some one inturded into it that the fact became known that reminders of the now abandoned dissecting tables remained there.  Rumors  were afloat yesterday that the remains of the subjects used to be buried unders Russell's stable, adjoining.  Dr. Bentley, who was seen by a Mail reporter this morning, deniied this.  He said:  "Something over three years ago twelve or fifteen reputable physicians of Stockton-- all but one of whom is here now-- got together and formed a society for the purpose of caring on dissecting for their own instruction and the benefit of science.  We followed out the provisions of the law in rlation to such matters, secured the necessary permit from the Board of Supervisors, and gave heavy bonds.  All the necessary precautions were taken to prevent intrusion by curious people, and everythng possible was done to avoid any bad results from a sanitary standpoint.  The bodies used were unclaimed dead from the Insane Asylum.  We had the certificates of death, and everything was done in regular form, so that in case any relatives or friends of the deceased should turn up and want to trace them there would be no difficulty.  The statement that any portion of the bodies is buried under the stables or anywhere else about the premises is absolutely untrue; the remains were interred at Clark's hospital.  We were simply engaged in honest ______ (surgical?)  research, and there was nothing wrong or unusual about the matter.  The whole roceeding was strictly within the la, and Nutter & DeVries were our attorneys.  Of course, we did everything as quietly and secretly as possible for the simple reason that it was a matter that did not concern the public at large, and for the additional reason that there is sometimes a prejudice against such things, which we did not care to excite.  The only trouble we ever had was caused by the stable hands trying to peek in or pry around where they were not wanted. "We finally discontinued the matter and locked up the place, but it seems that some one has broken into the room, which no one had any right to do, and if we discover who did so we will prosecute.  The only thing that was left in the place was the paraphernalia and a few bones.  It is also wrong to presume that the sole object of the society was to dissect; we read medical papers and had discussions pertaining to things instructive to the medical profession.  As I said before, the whole thing was right and proper and under th esupervision of reputable and practicing physicians."