The Park City Museum will host a lecture on June 3, 2026, detailing the harsh realities of medical care in Park City during the late 1800s and early 1900s.
Lecture details and topics
The presentation, titled Medical Care in Park City in 1900—Not For the Faint of Heart, will be delivered by Dr. Thomas Schwenk at the museum's Education and Collections Center. According to the Park City Museum, the lecture will examine common diseases and injuries from that era, the medical professionals who served the town, and the funding and construction of the Miners Hospital in 1904.
Dr. Schwenk's local medical history
Dr. Schwenk, a board-certified family physician, brings both academic and local clinical experience to the topic. The Park City Museum noted that Dr. Schwenk practiced in Park City from 1978 to 1984, serving as the town's first full-time physician following the closure of the mines.
Academic background and career achievements
As reported by Surrogate Press, Dr. Schwenk graduated from the University of Michigan Medical School and completed training at the University of Utah. His medical career included serving as Chair of the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School for 25 years and as Dean of the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine for ten years before his retirement in 2021.
Current life and literary work
Dr. Schwenk has since returned to live in Park City with his wife, Jane. His literary work includes the book Beyond the False Summit, a story set in 1890s Park City involving two physicians navigating a mining town marked by political corruption and medical mysteries.
