Jessica Ferguson
Born: 1895, Mount Pleasant, New York
Jessica "Jessie" Ferguson was known as "the Mirror Girl." She was born in 1895 in Mount Pleasant, New York, and was diagnosed with tuberculosis of the bone in her early twenties, which affected her spine. In 1918, she lost the ability to walk, and doctors placed her in a cast that permanently put her in a reclining position. Her mother, Anna, brought Jessie to Saranac Lake in 1920, and they stayed in a cottage on Riverside Drive.
Jessie could not leave her room, so an elaborate system of mirrors was rigged up so she could see the street outside her cottage. Jessie was already well known in the village for her upbeat attitude in the face of her condition, but this system earned her the well-known nickname of "Mirror Girl."
William Morris learned of her struggle, and reached out to the [Brothers] to try and help Jessie and bring attention to her plight. Lee Schubert arranged for a traveling troupe that was performing '[[1]]in Malone and Watertown to make a special stop. The troupe added a special private performance to their schedule in May 1923 and staged a full production in Jessie's room. The Mirror Girl's fame spread as a result.
This happened again in the summer of 1924, when a group of [[2]] performers gave a private concert with violin and piano for her. One of the artists, Knight MacGregor, sang several Scottish tunes, which was special because both of Jessie's parents were from Scotland.
She was considered Saranac Lake's second-most-famous resident, after Robert Louis Stevenson, and this connection eventually helped Jessie. William Morris was a member of the Robert Louis Stevenson Society, and one of his fellow members, Colonel Walter Scott, took notice of Jessie's story. Scott was very wealthy and gave to often to charitable causes. Scott often worked with children's hospitals, and connected Jessie with Doctor Russell Hibbs of New York City. Hibbs evaluated Jessie's condition and decided she would be a good candidate for spinal surgery. He also thought that Jessie might be able to walk again after the surgery.
In early September 1926, Hibbs operated on Jessie in New York City, and the improvement was immediate. After being in a cast for five years, Jessie was once again able to sit up, stand, and take steps. In October, she returned to Saranac Lake and continued her recovery. From this point on, Jessie was now known as the "Miracle Girl."
In June 1927, Colonel Scott accompanied Jessie and her mother to New York City for a checkup. Her recovery was "marvelous." During that trip, Scott, special guest Duncan MacInnes (who was the Royal Chief of the Order of the Scottish Clans), and many other members of the Stevenson Society treated Jessie and her mother to an extravagant feast at the Lafayette Hotel.
A few weeks later, Colonel Scott noted that the Stevenson Society of America received a $100 donation to purchase Jessie a lifetime membership in the Stevenson Society. Jessie gave Colonel Scott a new nickname; she referred to him as her "fairy godfather."
Crippled Girl to See Play in Her Own Room -- New Castle News, April 26, 1923
SARANAC LAKE, NY -- Jessica Ferguson, 22, "mirror girl," who for three years has stayed in one room because of hip disease and seen nothing of the world except what is reflected to her in a novel mirror arrangement, will have a theatre brought to her.
William Morris, theatrical impresario, heard of her plight and told Lee Schubert of New York.
They have arranged with the cast to present "Tangerine," with all the frills, right in her own room, tomorrow night.
And she won't even have to pay admission.
Information from 'The New York History Blog.