This lancet was recovered from the 1991 Kansas Archeology Training Program field school at the Hollenberg Pony Express Station in Washington County. Lancets such as this one were used during bloodletting, or phlebotomy, a practice once thought to have beneficial results to one's health. The popularity of bloodletting began to decline in the mid-1800s and fell out of favor by the early twentieth century. The site was the location of a Pony Express station, a stop on the Oregon-California trail, a post office, a blacksmith shop, and a farm with barns and other outbuildings. The site was purchased by the Kansas Legislature in 1941 and is in the National Register of Historic Places.
Kansas Memory
Kansas Historical Society
Bloodletting Lancet from the Hollenberg Pony Express Station, 14WH316 - 1
