William C. Wile was the youngest child of Reverend Benjamin Franklin Wile, and the half brother of our great grandmother Anna Wile Wilder and her siblings. Uncle Will, as he was known to Mim and Mom, led a full and quite interesting life. In this first contribution to his story, are photos of the Tarrywile Band Stand, erected at the Molokai Leper Colony in 1903.
The women on horseback were Hawaiian women in traditional clothing in 1904. They were suffering from leprosy, and were living at the leper colony at Molokai, Hawaii. My grandfather's uncle, named Will Wile, was a surgeon who lived in Danbury, Connecticut, in a home called Tarrywile. But around the turn of the century developed a great interest in Hawaii as a possible tourist spot (the Honolulu newspaper devoted an extensive article to his observations) and established a health food factory there. He was also an early advocate and supporter of the Molokai Leper Colony. At the far right of the photo is a bandstand that Will Wile provided as a gift to the leper colony known as the Tarrywile Band Stand in honor of his home in Connecticut, which still stands as a city park there.
A Collection of Articles Written About Dr. William Conrad Wile from Various Sources
(Newspapers, Journals, and Books)
A Link to Tarrywile, the Home Built by William Conrad Wile in Danbury, Connecticut
From the Photo Collection of the Author Jack London: Photo of Hawaiian Women Suffering from Leprosy.
Dressed in Traditional Hawaiian Costume on Horseback with Tarrywile Bandshell in Back Right. 1904
A Closer Image of the Tarrywile Bandshell 1903
A View of the Leper Colony at Molokai from about 1904
(Band Shell is not in this view)