Southern Ohio Lunatic Asylum; Dayton, Ohio (Noelani Hansen)
(Pictured: Front view of Southern Ohio Lunatic Asylum)
When was this "asylum"opened? Did it follow Kirkbride's design?
The first "asylum" in Ohio opened in 1851, but estimates of the "insane" at this time was close to 2,000. Due to this, the Ohio Legislature passed an act in 1852 appropriating $140,000 to build two additional "lunatic asylums". This led to the building of the Southern Ohio Lunatic Asylum, which opened in September of 1855. The building was built following the Kirkbride model. There was a main administrative building that was 4 stories tall, with 3 wards on each side of the administrative building, which each stood at 3 stories tall. The institution had a frontage of 940 feet. In 1861, there were 6 additional wards added onto each side. In 1891, it was again enlarged by 2 congregate dining rooms on each side.
What was this institution's original intent?
The original intent of the institution was to house the "insane", as this population had continued to grow over the previous years before the institution was built. It was supposed to serve the 13 west central counties with a uniform per county quota, but over half of the original patients were from Hamilton County, which is a result of the overcrowding at the Hamilton County Asylum. Part of the original intent of the institution was to create a large plot of land that included enough amenities to be almost self-sustaining. By 1894, the Southern Ohio Lunatic Asylum had its own power plant, water tower, and working farm where a variety of vegetables and grains were produced. In addition to this, cattle and poultry were raised on the hospital grounds. The farm crops yielded enough food to fulfill most of the patients' food needs.
(Pictured: Garden on the grounds)
Who were the patients there? Do narratives of their experiences exist?
When the institution first opened, the main diagnosis for the patients was "mania acute". The causes for almost half of the patients' diagnoses was classified as "unknown". Other listed causes for their mental illnesses were constipation, hemorrhoids, and excessive tobacco use. The patient population was evenly split between males and females. The predominant occupations for the male patients were laborer or farmer. For the women, it was housekeeper or no occupation. In my research, I wasn't able to find any narratives from patients themselves. The only information I could find related to this were descriptions from people who had visited or worked at the institution.
What was the patient's experience like in the institution, and did that change over the course of the institution's history?
Joshua Clements, the first superintendent , wrote to the Board of Trustees saying that the institution only had 8 iron beds and advised that they needed more. Clements stressed the need to grade and beautify the grounds, reasoning that outdoor exercise and amusement were "valuable curative agents". He also insisted on the need to provide an adequate library, as "miscellaneous reading matter is eagerly sought after by the inmates".
Patients at the institution tended to the farm crops and animals on the grounds. They also worked in a canning factory that was temporarily on the institution grounds. Some of the patients did work around the institution itself to help maintain the buildings. Women worked in the basement, where the sewing machines were kept, hemming sheets and draperies. Musical instruments were donated for the patients to use at their leisure for those who knew how to play them. There were also rooms full of craft supplies that the patients could use as they pleased. All of these tasks and activities were thought to be therapeutic.
(Top photo: patients socializing. Bottom photo: patients playing pool.)
Did the institution, its services, and patients change over time?
The changes that were made to the institution mainly consisted of adding buildings. This included a power house, an electric plant, a horse and dairy barn, a 2 story brick stagecoach, a laundry, an infirmary cottage, a convalescent cottage, a cottage for working men, and two greenhouses. In the mid 1900s, not all of the patients at the institution had mental illnesses, and some "were just senile and mentally retarded". In the late 1960s, decentralization took place which resulted in the men's and women's wards mixing. Patient ages at this time ranged from 18 to 80 years of age. Patients were encouraged to interact with one another, which was different from the original thought that patients should be separated from one another.
The name of the institution itself changed several times over its lifetime. When it first opened, it was called the Southern Ohio Lunatic Asylum. In 1875, it was the Western Ohio Hospital for the Insane. In 1877, it was the Dayton Hospital for the Insane. In 1878, it was the Dayton Asylum for the Insane. Finally, in 1894, its final name change was to the Dayton State Hospital, which was kept until the institution closed. The institution closed in the 1970s after deinstitutionalization took place. Today, it is 10 Wilmington Place, a senior citizen residential community.
How many people lived, worked, and died here?
When the institution first opened, there were 70 patients living there. Over the course of 3 months, 11 of these patients were either removed or discharged. These numbers increased over time. By 1909, there were 595 women and 604 men registered as patients. At this same time, there were 84 attendants working there, plus the superintendent. The number of patients continued to fluctuate over the years, but by the 1960s there were 1,600 patients residing there. This was the highest population that the institution had. After this, the number of patients went down until the institution closed in 1978. There were no findings in my research about the number of patients that died here, but it was mentioned that there was a cemetery on the grounds.
Were bad conditions ever exposed to the public? How?
Starting in the 1960s, newspaper reports came out detailing the overcrowding that was happening at the institution, which started during the 1950s. There were also reports of poor and negligent treatment of some of the patients. In these reports, it was stated that there were bars on the windows of the outer residential buildings. These buildings housed the patients with more severe mental illnesses. There were reports of staff cut-backs beginning around this time, and by the 1970s the institution was quickly failing. Other than this, there were no other reports of bad conditions for the patients.
Would you have wanted "treatment" in this institution?
I think I would have wanted to receive treatment at this institution. The patients were given many opportunities to interact with one another, as well as engage in a variety of recreational activities (music, crafts, library). There were also opportunities to work outside and inside, which would help me stay busy. The only issue I would have with being treated at this hospital would be the overcrowding that started happening during the 1950s. I was relatively surprised by the accounts I read about this institution, as they were mostly positive. This was a nice change from many of the institutions we've read about recently that had poor living conditions and treated their patients badly.
Hello Noelani: The images you found certainly make the institution seem like a nice place to live. The self-sustaining gardens would be a great form of therapy. I am curious about why some facilities have predominately positive stories available about the patients who lived there, while others tell horrific tales of such inhumane treatment. Is it all about the who the superintendent is at the time, or how the workers are trained, or something else altogether?
ReplyDeleteOne of the pieces that does seem to be consistent, which I found in some of the research about the hospital you researched and Oregon State Hospital, which I researched, is the reputation that these places had in the community. I found a few recounts that discuss how the local children would tease each other about having to go to that "insane asylum on --------- street" if you were bad or did something odd. The reputation with the local members of the community would be an interesting area to research deeper.
Reading this made me think there was a sense of community at this hospital. The facility pretty much became self-staining by developing farming and a power plant. I wonder if those that were there felt as though it was their community or if they felt they were ill and receiving treatment? It was interesting how constipation, hemorrhoids, and excessive tobacco were reasons to be admitted...You would think that opened the door for many people. I wonder if the poor would find a reasons like this to have better living conditions and be committed/admitted?
ReplyDeleteThis seems like a better facility than many of them we have studied. Overcrowding seems to have been an issue for many and resulted in extremely poor conditions. For many the world events such as WWI and WWII contributed to the poor conditions and lack of resources,
ReplyDeleteNancy
Noelani,
ReplyDeleteAmongst the plenty of abandoned mentally insane asylums strewn across the nation the Southern Ohio Lunatic Asylum is not short of any history. Opened in 1851 it is coined phrased as The Ridges from the locals. The Southern Ohio Lunatic Asylum definitely was built around the Kirkbride flair. It was originally built on 50 acres of land the facility was originally built to accompany 59 patients. You did a fantastic job on chronologically placing all the facts of the Southern Ohio Lunatic Asylum Hospital together. This is one of the first Asylums that did not close in early 1990’s as it closed its doors in 1978. Interesting that the number of patients did not peak over 2,000 like nearly all the rest of the Asylums across the nation, as the number peaked to 1,600 patients residing in the Asylum. It is interesting that you pointed out that the name of the institution changed numerous times within its lifetime of existence. The other asylums also had various names before they closed no articles state why the names would change perhaps it was due to how the general population felt about the asylums that they lived close by. You stated that you would like to have been treated at the Southern Ohio Lunatic Asylum as you noted you are satisfied that the many patients were given opportunities to interact to with each other and the opportunity to work outside and stay busy. Noelani you are a brave soul to elect to be treated at the Southern Ohio Lunatic Asylum, I would elect to be treated there if I had no other choice and had no primary care provider. I enjoyed reading your post. You referenced this facility from the beginning of its existence until the hospital phased out. I enjoyed reading your post.