Difference between revisions of "Portal:Featured Article Of The Week"

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|Title= Orillia Asylum
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|Title= Harlem Valley State Hospital
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|Body= The history of the Huronia Regional Centre dates back to the purchase of an almost completed hotel building situated on approximately 13 acres of land at today’s Couchiching Beach Park and the opening of the “Convalescent Lunatic Asylum” in 1861. This became home to people both with mental illness or developmental handicaps as the third branch of the Provincial Lunatic Asylum (today the Centre For Addiction And Mental Health at 1001 Queen Street West in Toronto) for 9 years. It was closed in 1870 and reopened again in 1876 at the same site due to overcrowding of the other facilities. Within 6 months there were over 100 residents. In early 1877, Dr. Alexander Beaton was appointed as the new superintendent. He was a dynamic pioneer who was twice elected president of what was later known as the American Association on Mental Retardation (.A.A.M.R.). Dr. Beaton was interested in the training of developmentally handicapped people rather than custodial care and, by 1888 a school was formally started.
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|Body= One day after the incorporation of the Board of Managers, Harlem Valley State Hospital came into being. It opened on April 24th, 1924 "for the care and treatment of the insane" as part of an act to discontinue the farm and industrial prison at Wingdale. Buildings A, B and C had already been constructed at the State Road (Route 22) site and money was soon requested to buy adjoining farmland and buildings to build a root cellar, dairy barn, piggery and poultry house for 3000 chickens. With 24 patients admitted on August 11 from New York City and Long Island, the hospital was ready to become part of the history of Harlem Valley.
  
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To alleviate the overcrowding, 151 acres of land at the edge of Lake Simcoe were purchased in 1885, complete with a stone farmhouse and some outbuildings. Initial construction included a female residence (opened in November 1887), a male residence (opened in February 1888), a central building serving as a water tower, boiler house and kitchen and, about a quarter mile distant, a small plant to create coal gas for lighting located near the railway tracks. The present Administration Building, added to the front of the existing complex, was opened in April 1891, at which time both the remaining resident group and the school was moved to the new site and the building at the Park closed. The park site was later sold to the Town of Orillia. Dr. Beaton continued to fight for the rights of the residents by attempting to dispel the ignorance and apathy directed toward them throughout his 33 year career. This included his request to rename the facility to “Hospital For The Feebleminded” from “Asylum For Idiots”. In his time (1908) the resident population stood at 775 with a staff of 80.  [[Orillia Asylum|Click here for more...]]
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Between 1925 and 1929, the certified capacity of the new hospital rose from 250 to 1294. During that time, the Board of Managers, which, in later years, became the Board of Visitors, approved changing the course of the State Route 22 so that it would skirt most of the grounds instead of running directly through. By 1928 Buildings F and H were competed and Kitchen G was readied. In addition, tennis courts were built, physical culture classes were started and a baseball team for employees was organized. Then, by 1929 new staff quarters were completed and a switchboard was installed that served for 60 years. In the fall of the year, the School of Nursing, constructed in 1926, opened on September 23 with 14 enrolled.  [[Harlem Valley State Hospital|Click here for more...]]
 
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Revision as of 03:25, 15 September 2019

Featured Article Of The Week

Harlem Valley State Hospital


Harlem.jpg

One day after the incorporation of the Board of Managers, Harlem Valley State Hospital came into being. It opened on April 24th, 1924 "for the care and treatment of the insane" as part of an act to discontinue the farm and industrial prison at Wingdale. Buildings A, B and C had already been constructed at the State Road (Route 22) site and money was soon requested to buy adjoining farmland and buildings to build a root cellar, dairy barn, piggery and poultry house for 3000 chickens. With 24 patients admitted on August 11 from New York City and Long Island, the hospital was ready to become part of the history of Harlem Valley.

Between 1925 and 1929, the certified capacity of the new hospital rose from 250 to 1294. During that time, the Board of Managers, which, in later years, became the Board of Visitors, approved changing the course of the State Route 22 so that it would skirt most of the grounds instead of running directly through. By 1928 Buildings F and H were competed and Kitchen G was readied. In addition, tennis courts were built, physical culture classes were started and a baseball team for employees was organized. Then, by 1929 new staff quarters were completed and a switchboard was installed that served for 60 years. In the fall of the year, the School of Nursing, constructed in 1926, opened on September 23 with 14 enrolled. Click here for more...

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