Northampton State Hospital / Northampton, Massachusetts / Gary Gutierrez
Northampton State Hospital
When was this "asylum" opened, and what did it look like? The picture above is Northampton State Hospital and asylum in Northampton Massachusetts. It was also coined phrase as Northampton State Lunatic Hospital, Hospital Hill and Old Main. This hospital as plan was passed by the Massachusetts legislature in 1855 and was completed and opened on July 4th 1858 in the western part of the state. As you can see the several extensions of the hospital were added throughout the years as the patient population grew. As you see below the aerial view of the Northampton State Hospital is a labyrinth view of numerous connected buildings. The hospital was built on a hill of 176 acres and included a working farm an integral part of the hospitals recovery treatment programs and economy. The hospital closed its doors for good in 1993 and most of the building were demolished in 2006. Some buildings are being preserved and converted into energy efficient condominiums.
Aerial View of Northampton State Hospital
-Did it follow Kirkbride's design? Research depicts that Architect Jonathan Preston designed the Northampton State Hospital to meet the Kirkbride plan. It was built as an Elizabethan Gothic style structure. An institution built like a fortress, it was constructed with numerous three floor brick buildings and followed the Kirkbride design. Per illustration below you see the breakdown of the segmented building as A. office, B. dispensary C. parlors, D. rooms, E. sitting rooms, F. dining rooms, G. drying room, and H. ironing room. The rest of the breakdown was not shown on this illustration as you see the plan also includes a rotunda and a laundry building. As the Danvers State Hospital the Northampton State Hospital was also a one stop shop to take care of all needs as they arose.
-What was this institution's original intent? The Northampton State Hospital's intent and goal was to provide moral therapy to the mentally disturbed and insane population. The institution gravitated towards an alternative to community based treatments for mental illness and away from institutionalization. The hospital combined treatment and individualized care mixed with religious worship, recreation and amusement. Sounds like the treatment was Quaker influenced.
-Who were the patients there? Do narratives of their experiences exist? The patients at the North Hampton State hospital were people from local and across the region of the state who were mentally ill. Some patients were at the hospital due to no family would claim them. The patients would often ask staff why are they hospitalized. Sadly enough the staff had no direct answer for them.
-What was the patients' experience like in that institution, and did that change over the course of the institution's history? The original intent for the hospital was originally built for 250 patient residence at firs the patient experience was welcoming but as the resident population increased at the Northampton State Hospital the patient experience declined. I am sure some changes did take place but the focus for the hospital was to combine treatment with individualized care.
-Did the institution, its services, and patients change over time? The care for the institutions patients stayed quite consistent. I am sure some changes did take place but the focus for the hospital was to combine treatment with individualized care.
-How many people lived, worked, and died there? At the fullest capacity of the Northampton State Hospital a total of 2,331 patients lived at the hospital. There were 509 staff employees to attend the patients that later the patient numbers swelled to 2,500. There were 594 confirmed burials a the hospital cemetery. By 1980 Northampton State Hospital registered its 64,500th admission.
-Were bad conditions ever exposed to the public? How? Conditions at the asylum reached deplorable conditions. Patients would press their nose against the window wanting to leave the hospital. Patients were kept against their will locked in their rooms where screams can be heard through the corridors of the hospital. The asylum attorney Steven Schwartz stated that the stench in the asylum was overwhelming.
-Would you have wanted "treatment" in this institution? This is a tough answer, not to knock the hospital. Northampton served its purpose to cure the insane and assist in stabilizing the mentally ills mindset. I personally would not want to receive treatment at Northampton State Hospital. People received care at Northampton State Hospital because they were not fortunate to receive care and treatment from a different facility. By no means do I take away the good intent Northampton stood for did their best to care for the insane during the time it was in operation.
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Gary,
ReplyDeleteThis asylum seems like many of the others in that the intent in the beginning was actually quite good. Yet like many other facilities, the living condtions were poor. I found that the historical events like WWI changed the level of resources that were committed to the care of the mentally ill.
Nancy