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

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|Title= Willmar State Hospital
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|Title= Ypsilanti State Hospital
|Image= Pf016414.jpg
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|Image= Toledo11.jpg
 
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|Body= Built on an open farm field north of town, the Willmar Hospital Farm for Inebriates opened in 1912 with just 37 patients. Their treatment included working on the self sustaining farm where oats, barley, corn, timothy, vegetables and livestock where raised. During the hospital’s first 18 months, 84 inmates escaped, which “did little to alleviate the skepticism and stigma that had surrounded the new institution from the beginning.The Willmar Hospital Farm for Inebriates was established by the state legislature in 1907 as Minnesota's second state hospital for alcoholics. (The first had been established in Rochester in 1873) The hospital was financed through a state tax of 2% on all liquor license fees, and opened in December of 1912 with 2 major buildings and a 500 acre farm site. Two years later, in July of 1914, there were 314 patients at Willmar.
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|Body= During the 1920s the necessity for an additional state hospital became apparent. The combined capacity of the existing state hospitals was 1,900 beds short of what was considered adequate. In 1929 Governor Green proposed that a fifth state hospital be developed. The first appropriation of $1.5 million for the fiscal year ending 1930 was passed. Ypsilanti was chosen because of it's population density and proximity to the University Center in Ann Arbor as well as it's availability of land. Purchase of the 1,209 acres was begun in 1929.
  
In March of 1917, the hospital was renamed the Willmar State Asylum and “so-called hopeless or custodial care cases” who were destined to become lifelong wards of the state” were housed at the facility.
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On June 16, 1930 the breaking of ground was underway. The following year the Legislature formalized the name and function for the institution. The architectural firm of Albert Kahn designed the buildings and contracts were let out for construction work to 35 separate companies. Construction work was pushed at what was described as a "miracle pace".
  
From 1919 through the early 1930s, buildings were added to the campus in a steady schedule of new construction in an attempt to keep pace with the increasing population. New cottages for men and women, an administration building and auditorium were built. Mentally-ill patients arrived in rail coaches from other hospitals in Minnesota, increasing the population to 1,471. In 1937 the name was changed to Willmar State Hospital. During and after World War Two, shortages of staff and money resulted in deteriorating conditions at the hospital. Reports said patients were “forgotten people” who were “crowded like animals” and slept in “dingy attics. [[Yankton State Hospital|Click here for more...]]
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The first patients were admitted one day short of the 1 year mark since the groundbreaking. At the time of the formal dedication, July 28, 1931, the physical plant consisted of the receiving hospital and administration building ("A" building), C-1 and C-2 blocks with combined facilities for approximately 900 patients; the unit containing 6 apartments ("J" building); dormitory and apartments for employees (K-1); powerhouse, warehouse & the superintendents quarters. All main buildings to which patients would have need of access were connected by underground tunnels.  [[Ypsilanti State Hospital|Click here for more...]]
 
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Revision as of 10:05, 20 April 2025

Featured Article Of The Week

Ypsilanti State Hospital


Toledo11.jpg

During the 1920s the necessity for an additional state hospital became apparent. The combined capacity of the existing state hospitals was 1,900 beds short of what was considered adequate. In 1929 Governor Green proposed that a fifth state hospital be developed. The first appropriation of $1.5 million for the fiscal year ending 1930 was passed. Ypsilanti was chosen because of it's population density and proximity to the University Center in Ann Arbor as well as it's availability of land. Purchase of the 1,209 acres was begun in 1929.

On June 16, 1930 the breaking of ground was underway. The following year the Legislature formalized the name and function for the institution. The architectural firm of Albert Kahn designed the buildings and contracts were let out for construction work to 35 separate companies. Construction work was pushed at what was described as a "miracle pace".

The first patients were admitted one day short of the 1 year mark since the groundbreaking. At the time of the formal dedication, July 28, 1931, the physical plant consisted of the receiving hospital and administration building ("A" building), C-1 and C-2 blocks with combined facilities for approximately 900 patients; the unit containing 6 apartments ("J" building); dormitory and apartments for employees (K-1); powerhouse, warehouse & the superintendents quarters. All main buildings to which patients would have need of access were connected by underground tunnels. Click here for more...