Oregon State Insane Asylum
Ken Carey
The Oregon
State Insane Asylum was established in 1883.
It was designed after the Kirkland model for the construction of
asylums. Dr. Thomas Kirkbride from
Philadelphia was an early American proponent of the Moral Treatment of the
mentally ill practiced in Europe. His
design and intent was that the buildings and grounds were to play a major role
in the therapies employed to help the mentally ill patients. His hospital design included many wings to
separate patients to avoid agitation and to expose them to fresh air, sunlight,
and bucolic views which he believed promoted well-being. There were gardens to tend for the men and
clothing for the women to sew. From my
research, this hospital was described as a dumping ground by families for
family members who were a burden. The
Oregon State Hospital Museum website provides a list of causes of insanity from
1894-1896. Some of the more prevalent
reasons were epilepsy, heredity, intemperance, morphine addiction, and
religion. During the late 1800’s, the
hospital was considered one of the most progressive mental facilities in the
country. Empathy, focus on physical
health, and work done by the patients were all hallmarks of this asylum. Treatments included straight-jackets,
medications, and group therapy. A 2013
article by the Oregonian highlighted experience of 36-year-old Eva York. A patient at the hospital who died there in
1896. She was placed there due to her
epilepsy. An epileptic seizure resulted
in her drowning in her bath. An
investigation conducted by the state resulted in the hospital not being found
guilty of any wrong doing, as it was considered accidental. The Oregon State Insane Asylum was renamed
the Oregon State Hospital and it is famously known as the setting for the book
and movie “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.” Over-crowding resulted in the need
for expansion, so more hospitals dedicated to the care of the mentally ill were
established in other parts of Oregon in the early 1900’s. In 1958, with a population of 3,545 patients,
two more hospitals were opened.
The Oregon State Insane Asylum sounds pretty similar to the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum(TALA) that I researched. Your post notes that the facility was built with many wings to avoid “patient agitation.” This seems like a common theme during the Moral Treatment era. It sounds like these facilities intentions were quite good at first, giving patients more than ample space. The TALA was originally only supposed to support 250 people but like in Oregon overcrowding quickly ensued. It also sounded like these facilities originally intended to be somewhat self-sustained by its patients working in gardens and doing other farm related tasks. It’s interesting to see how in the mid to late 19th century these facilities seemed to strive for more humane treatment then what we have seen at many of our modern day hospitals.
ReplyDeleteGeoff, that is a good point. Those institutions of 1800's based on the Moral Treatment model do appear to be better facilities in the regard that they had space and grounds for patients to get better. It appears they were the victim of their own success. Overcrowding, as seen today, strains resources, the staff and patients, alike.
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