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

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{{FAformat
|Title= Yankton State Hospital
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|Title= Weston State Hospital
|Image= Yankton_SD_PC_4.jpg
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|Image= Westsh.jpg
 
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|Body= The completion of the railway into Yankton in 1873 gave added impetus to immigration and by 1878 the effect of the gold rush was reflected in the number of Dakota patients at St. Peter Hospital, totaling 22. Governor William A. Howard was advised in June by Minnesota that no more patients could be accepted after July 1 because of crowded conditions at that hospital and all Dakota patients would have to be removed by October 1, 1878.
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|Body= Originally designed to house 250 patients in solitude, the hospital held 717 patients by 1880; 1,661 in 1938; over 1,800 in 1949; and, at its peak, 2,400 in the 1950s in overcrowded conditions. A 1938 report by a survey committee organized by a group of North American medical organizations found that the hospital housed "epileptics, alcoholics, drug addicts and non-educable mental defectives" among its population. A series of reports by The Charleston Gazette in 1949 found poor sanitation and insufficient furniture, lighting, and heating in much of the complex, while one wing, which had been rebuilt using Works Progress Administration funds following a 1935 fire started by a patient, was comparatively luxurious.
  
The Governor contacted Iowa hospitals without success, then traveled to Lincoln, Nebraska, and found that institution overcrowded but by completing some unfinished rooms, accommodations were arranged for five patients until the following February. Another contract with Minnesota resulted in an extension until February 1, 1879, for removal of the patients from St. Peter.
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By the 1980s, the hospital had a reduced population due to changes in the treatment of mental illness. In 1986, then-Governor Arch Moore announced plans to build a new psychiatric facility elsewhere in the state and convert the Weston hospital to a prison. Ultimately the new facility, the William R. Sharpe Jr. Hospital, was built in Weston and the old Weston State Hospital was simply closed, in May 1994. The building and its grounds have since been mostly vacant, aside from local events such as fairs, church revivals, and tours. In 1999, all four floors of the interior of the building were damaged by several city and county police officers playing paintball, three of whom were dismissed over the incident.  [[Weston State Hospital|Click here for more...]]
 
 
Governor Howard searched for a building to be used for a hospital in nearby towns of Vermillion, Elk Point and Canton with no success. In Yankton, he found two large wooden buildings--one belonging to the city and one to the Territory that were built to house German-Russian immigrants. The Governor secured the buildings and arranged to have them rebuilt on school lands north of Yankton at personal expense, a total of $2,286.85. The thirteenth session of the Dakota Territory Legislature met on January 14, 1879, and in the Governor’s message he advised the lawmakers of his action and the necessary laws were passed.  [[Yankton State Hospital|Click here for more...]]
 
 
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Revision as of 05:04, 1 December 2019

Featured Article Of The Week

Weston State Hospital


Westsh.jpg

Originally designed to house 250 patients in solitude, the hospital held 717 patients by 1880; 1,661 in 1938; over 1,800 in 1949; and, at its peak, 2,400 in the 1950s in overcrowded conditions. A 1938 report by a survey committee organized by a group of North American medical organizations found that the hospital housed "epileptics, alcoholics, drug addicts and non-educable mental defectives" among its population. A series of reports by The Charleston Gazette in 1949 found poor sanitation and insufficient furniture, lighting, and heating in much of the complex, while one wing, which had been rebuilt using Works Progress Administration funds following a 1935 fire started by a patient, was comparatively luxurious.

By the 1980s, the hospital had a reduced population due to changes in the treatment of mental illness. In 1986, then-Governor Arch Moore announced plans to build a new psychiatric facility elsewhere in the state and convert the Weston hospital to a prison. Ultimately the new facility, the William R. Sharpe Jr. Hospital, was built in Weston and the old Weston State Hospital was simply closed, in May 1994. The building and its grounds have since been mostly vacant, aside from local events such as fairs, church revivals, and tours. In 1999, all four floors of the interior of the building were damaged by several city and county police officers playing paintball, three of whom were dismissed over the incident. Click here for more...