History Collections Books Podcast About
Books by the Ladd School Historical Society
The Books

True stories from the Ladd School

The women committed, the children who vanished, and the superintendent who answered for it all.

In paperback and on Kindle

New

House Dogs in the Turnips, two paperback copies on a blueprint of the Exeter School
May 2026

House Dogs in the Turnips

For forty-seven years, Dr. Joseph H. Ladd served as superintendent of the Rhode Island School for the Feeble-Minded in Exeter, overseeing thousands committed to the State's care.

Drawn from official reports, institutional letters, and records no one was meant to read again, House Dogs in the Turnips resurrects his voice as a posthumous memoir written in the aftermath of a murder accusation that brought his career to an end.

Paperback, $13.39Kindle, $4.992026978-0-9825049-6-3
Read more Buy on Amazon

In print

Exeter Girls: Letters From a Feeble-Minded School

Exeter Girls: Letters From a Feeble-Minded School

The life and trials of three women committed to the Ladd School in the early 1900s, told through their personal letters.

4.3 stars, 53 ratingsPaperback, 264 pages, $15.99Kindle, $6.992014978-0-9825049-3-2
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Exeter Girls: Volume II

Exeter Girls: Volume II

The fates of three more women confined to the Ladd School in the 1920s, shared through their letters and words.

Paperback, 298 pages, $19.99Kindle, $6.992024978-0-9825049-4-9
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Vox Humana: The Story of the State Hospital Pipe Organ

Vox Humana: The Story of the State Hospital Pipe Organ

A magnificent pipe organ towered over a thousand patients who dined beneath its shadow daily. Behind this musical marvel lies a darker tale of institutional life and one doctor's radical vision for healing minds.

Paperback, 84 pages, $12.992025978-0-9825049-5-6
Read more Buy on Amazon
Howard! 1900 A.D.

Howard! 1900 A.D.

Rhode Island's institutional history in restored photographs of the State Prison and the Asylum for the Insane, with insights from Dr. Henry Aaron Jones.

History, PhotographyHardcover, 76 pages, $34.992024978-0-9825049-2-5
Read more Buy on Amazon
The Bones of Gary Hayman and The Search for Samuel Finn

The Bones of Gary Hayman & The Search for Samuel Finn

The strange but true story of two children who disappeared from the Ladd School in the autumns of 1952 and 1956.

Non-Fiction, HistoryPaperback, 88 pages, $13.992013978-0-9825049-1-8
Buy on Amazon

Out of print

Idiots, Imbeciles, and Morons

Idiots, Imbeciles, and Morons

An examination of the meaning of 'feeble-mindedness' and a study of the Ladd School's population in 1947.

Non-Fiction, History374 pages2012978-0-9825049-0-1
The Ladd School: American Gothic

The Ladd School: American Gothic

A collection of rare and unique mid-century photographs composing a pictorial history of Rhode Island's only School for the Feeble-Minded.

Photography, History80 pages2009
The Ladd School: Back Wards, Blue Rooms

The Ladd School: Back Wards, Blue Rooms

The 86-year history of the Ladd School, from its beginning as a school for the feeble-minded to its end as a residential facility for people with disabilities.

Non-Fiction, History160 pages2008
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