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

From Asylum Projects
Jump to: navigation, search
 
(60 intermediate revisions by the same user not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
 
{{FAformat
 
{{FAformat
|Title= Augusta State Hospital
+
|Title= Trenton State Hospital
|Image= Agustash.jpg
+
|Image= Trenton_State_Hospital_NH002.jpg
 
|Width= 150px
 
|Width= 150px
|Body= Mrs. Catherine Winslow, the first woman employed at the Maine Insane Hospital, was appointed matron when the asylum opened in 1840. The asylum was the product of a collaborative effort between the state and two private citizens, Reuel Williams of Augusta (married to Sarah Cony) and Benjamin Brown of Vassalborough. While early mental health institutions may fall far short of present-day standards for treatment for mental illness, the establishment of such places in the early nineteenth century was based, in part, on reforming care for the mentally ill.
+
|Body= The necessity of erecting an asylum for the care and treatment of the insane was advocated by Dr. Lyndon A. Smith, of Newark, in an address read before the Medical Society of New Jersey in 1837, on the occasion of his taking the chair as president of the society. This was the first appeal for the state to assume its duty to this class of unfortunates. The interest of the medical men being aroused by this address, they exerted their influence in the various communities, which led to an appeal to the Legislature in 1839. A joint resolution was accordingly passed by the Legislature authorizing the Governor to appoint commissioners to ascertain as accurately as practicable the number, age, sex and condition of lunatics in the state; and if, on such investigation being made, a lunatic asylum should be thought the best remedy for their relief, then to ascertain the necessary cost of the establishment of such an institution, the locality for the same, etc. An appropriation of $500 was made to defray the investigation's expenses. Governor Pennington appointed as commissioners Doctors Lyndon A. Smith, of Newark; Lewis Condict, of Norristown; A. F. Taylor, of New Brunswick; C. G. McChesney, of Trenton, and L. Q. C. Elmer, Esq., of Cumberland County. The fact that four out of five of the commissioners were medical men, one of whom was Dr. Lyndon A. Smith, who first advocated this public measure when president of the State Medical Society, indicates clearly that the Governor was strongly impressed with the idea that the medical men were the most earnest advocates of the movement.  [[Trenton State Hospital|Click here for more...]]
 
 
Prior to mental health hospitals, the mentally ill were the responsibility of their families, and if their families could not cope, they were either put in poor houses, put out on the streets, or locked away in jail. Mental health reformer Dorothea Dix (1802-1887), a native of Hampden, Maine, worked closely with the second superintendent of the Augusta asylum, Issac Ray (appointed in 1841). The building was state-of-the-art when constructed. All parts had ventilation, lighting, heating, and water. Men and women had separate wings.
 
 
 
Over its 162 years of service, the hospital has carried a number of names and today it is called the Augusta Mental Health Institute. Many buildings on the campus now serve as state offices. A new hospital,Riverview Psychiatric Center, was opened in 2004 to replace the facility.  [[Augusta State Hospital|Click here for more...]]
 
 
}}
 
}}

Latest revision as of 17:20, 7 December 2025

Featured Article Of The Week

Trenton State Hospital


Trenton State Hospital NH002.jpg

The necessity of erecting an asylum for the care and treatment of the insane was advocated by Dr. Lyndon A. Smith, of Newark, in an address read before the Medical Society of New Jersey in 1837, on the occasion of his taking the chair as president of the society. This was the first appeal for the state to assume its duty to this class of unfortunates. The interest of the medical men being aroused by this address, they exerted their influence in the various communities, which led to an appeal to the Legislature in 1839. A joint resolution was accordingly passed by the Legislature authorizing the Governor to appoint commissioners to ascertain as accurately as practicable the number, age, sex and condition of lunatics in the state; and if, on such investigation being made, a lunatic asylum should be thought the best remedy for their relief, then to ascertain the necessary cost of the establishment of such an institution, the locality for the same, etc. An appropriation of $500 was made to defray the investigation's expenses. Governor Pennington appointed as commissioners Doctors Lyndon A. Smith, of Newark; Lewis Condict, of Norristown; A. F. Taylor, of New Brunswick; C. G. McChesney, of Trenton, and L. Q. C. Elmer, Esq., of Cumberland County. The fact that four out of five of the commissioners were medical men, one of whom was Dr. Lyndon A. Smith, who first advocated this public measure when president of the State Medical Society, indicates clearly that the Governor was strongly impressed with the idea that the medical men were the most earnest advocates of the movement. Click here for more...