It was in May of 1920 that a portion of the former Joseph Haywood estate was sold to Dr. Richard V. Mattison.  Known as the "Asbestos King", Mattison was the active partner of Ambler-based Keasbey & Mattison Company, world's largest producer of asbestos products, and no longer in existence. 

The Haywood family, owners of The Ambler Gazette for more than a half-century, acquired their property back in 1868. Vacant for some time, a tract of just seven acres was sold to Mattison.  It was located between Tennis and Mt. Pleasant Avenues and fronted on the Bethlehem Pike, and today is a part of the Artman Home complex. 

Included in Mattison's purchase was the three-story mansard-roofed Haywood mansion, some out-buildings and a large frame barn. The barn was torn down by Mattison's workers and hauled out to Lindenwold Farms where it was re-assembled on land recently purchased from the John B. Vansant estate. Dr. Mattison was expanding his Lindenwold Farms properties which would eventually include more than 400 acres.  Part of this acreage, which includes the Castle and Loch Linden, is owned today by St. Mary's Villa for Children. 

Improvements to his newly-acquired Haywood property included installation of a new heater, two bath rooms on the second floor, one bath on the third and a pantry on the first floor. Water was brought onto the grounds by the Ambler Spring Water Company, owned by Mattison. These improvements were made with the intention of leasing the house as a residence. 

Just a year after acquiring the seven acres, Mattison was approached by two physicians of wide experience, Dr. G. D. Noeling, of 1112 Chestnut St., Phila., and Dr. G. W. Tupper, of Cold Point. They had been looking for a spot to set up an osteopathic sanatorium, and apparently were pleased with the location, for they leased it from Mattison, and began major changes, such as installation of an X-ray department and an accident ward. They turned it into a first class facility, calling it the Haywood Manor Sanatorium. 

Incidentally, Dr. Mattison had two reasons for purchasing the property, the first being his interest in the mansion, which he wished to sell or give to Ambler for use as a Veterans' Memorial Hospital to honor veterans of World War One.  Interest in this project lagged and by 1921, it was realized that it would not come about. His other interest in the property was to acquire the large frame barn. 

The new Haywood Manor Sanatorium opened July 15th of 1921.  Only a month later, a new patient came to them for treatment of an ear condition, making several visits a  week.  He came there from Huntingdon Valley Country Club, his temporary summer residence while he worked in nearby Willow Grove. He was a lieutenant-colonel in the First World War. He loved horse-back riding and kept his horses at the stables of the Fortside Inn in Whitemarsh. He rode frequently in the picturesque Whitemarsh Valley. Occasionally he would motor from his Country Club residence to Fortside Inn, saddle  up one of his favorite horses, and ride up the Bethlehem Pike for his treatments at the Sanatorium. The Pike at that time was a dirt road with very little traffic. 

The mystery patient was internationally-known in the music field, his place of summer employment being Willow Grove Park, where he and his popular band played for many years.  He was described on his visits to Ambler as being attired in a tweed jacket and knickers, with matching cap. 

If the reader has not yet guessed the identity of the celebrity patient, he was the designer of a musical instrument of the brass family, named for him and introduced into the United States in 1899, and called the Sousaphone.  Of course he was John Philip Sousa, who was 66 years old at the time of his Ambler visits in 1921.  He retired in 1931 from an illustrious career in music, dying in 1932 in Reading, Pa., in his 77th year. 

Recently in the news, a warning was issued to band members playing loud music, such as Sousa's marches, that it was advisable for them to wear ear plugs to prevent  damage to the ear drums.  Were Sousa's visits to the Haywood Manor Sanatorium in any way related to such ear problems?