Horace A. Buttolph
| Horace A. Buttolph | |
|---|---|
 Dr. Horace A. Buttolp | |
| Born | April 6, 1815 North East Township, New York |
| Died | May 21, 1896 Short Hills, NJ |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Doctor |
| Known for | First Superintendent of Trenton State Hospital and Greystone Park State Hospital |
Horace Buttolph was born on April 6, 1815 in the township of North East in Dutchess County, New York by the Connecticut border. He was the son of Warren Buttolph, who was of German decent, and Mary McAllister Buttolph, or Irish decent. He was schooled in Dutchess county and later at the Stockbridge Academy in nearby Massachusetts. His degree in medicine came from Berkshire Medical Institution at Pittsfield, Mass, which he graduated in 1835 and shortly thereafter began a practice in his home county. Soon he moved to Sharon Connecticut and continued his practice there for five years before moving again to New York City where he took at course of medical lectures at New York University. This was where he first became interested in mental sciences. After becoming interested in mental healthcare he visited the principal asylums in New England and soon acquired the position of assistant to Dr. Amariah Brigham, then the Superintendent of Utica State Hospital in New York. He served in this position for five years from 1842 until 1847. While still employed at Utica he visited more than 30 asylums across Britian, France, and Germany in order to study architecture and management. In light of this that in 1847 he was appointed to the position of Superintendent at the newly constructed New Jersey Lunatic Asylum at Trenton.
The Trenton State Hospital it was the first mental hospital to be built on what is now known as the Kirkbride Plan, which was according to . This began his 37 year as an asylum Superintendent in the State of New Jersey. In his service at the hospital he found little time to write for continued to serve as the Superintendent of this hospital for 29 years (1847-1876). While acting as the Superintendent he also contributed to the American Journal of Insanity, writing often about the subject of Phrenology and its relation to insanity. He was also an trustee of the American Institute of Phrenology for a number of years while also serving at the hospital.
In 1861 New Jersey decided it was necessary to construct a second hospital for the insane in New Jersey, which would later become Greystone Park State Hospital. Buttolph was appointed by the State Legislature, along with 5 other, and tasked with finding a suitable site for the hospital as well as attaining estimates for construction. In 1872 the site suggested by Dr. Buttolph was selected and construction began shorty. On June 8, 1876, about a month before the new hospital opened for patients Dr. Buttolph was appointed Superintendent, thus ending his service at Trenton. He occupied this position for the following eight and half years, finally retiring on January 1, 1885.
After retirement Dr. Buttolph moved from Morris Plains, NJ to Short Hills, NJ, where he died at the age of 83 years on May 21, 1896. He was buried five miles from Trenton State Hospital, at Riverview Cemetery
