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

From Asylum Projects
Jump to: navigation, search
 
(26 intermediate revisions by the same user not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
 
{{FAformat
 
{{FAformat
−
|Title= Queen Street Mental Health Centre
+
|Title= St Josephs Retreat
−
|Image= queenasylum.png
+
|Image= Stjosephretreat.jpg
 
|Width= 150px
 
|Width= 150px
−
|Body= In 1846, construction began on the first ‘Provincial Lunatic Asylum’ on a 50 acre portion of the Garrison Reserve, which was Military property. Designed by architect John George Howard, it was the largest and most modern building in British North America at the time; with its own 12,000 gallon fresh water tank, flush toilets, and central heating. The 40 foot diameter dome was the highest point in Toronto. It was capped by a cupola as a lookout guarding against potentially renewed attacks (as in the War of 1812) by the American military. At the time, the asylum was considered to be on the remote outskirts of the City, away from City residents who would travel to the area to look at the building as a tourist attraction. On August 22, 1846, an official ceremony was held by provincial and civic officials for the laying of the cornerstone by the Honorable Chief Justice John Beverly Robinson. Three and a half years later on January 26, 1850, the Provincial Lunatic Asylum, with 250 beds, opened its doors to its first 211 patients who had been transferred from the Temporary Asylum, which was housed in a former jail on King Street.
+
|Body= The St. Joseph's Retreat was established in 1860 as the Michigan State Retreat. This was Michigan's first private mental institution, and allegedly catered mostly to the affluent. It was started by the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul. In 1855 the Sisters of St. Mary's Hospital began to care for the mentally ill, who had formerly been confined to prisons or the county poor house. In 1860, they opened a seperate facility named the Michigan State Retreat, which was incorporated in 1883 as St. Joseph's Retreat. The original building stood on 140 acres overlooking the Rouge River. It was later enlarged to house 400 patients. At first these were Civil War veterans, and later alcoholics, drug addicts, and other "incurables." The first telephone installed in Dearborn was at the Retreat in 1889.
  
−
At this time, there were few treatments available for patients with mental illness. There was, though, ‘Moral Therapy’, which included a lot of fresh air and work-related activities for patients, such as laundry, kitchen duties, and farming of the land. Typically, patients wouldn’t get better – many of them would stay for life. The Toronto architecture firm of Cumberland and Ridout was engaged in 1851 to design a wall with lodges and an entrance gate around the asylum. The half-height portion of wall between the lodges, fronting Queen Street West, had many decorative details, including an iron fence on top of the wall. And, a year later in 1852, an all-brick wall on the north, east, and west sides of the property was completed. In 1853, Dr. Joseph Workman, an enlightened clinician and medical educator open to new ideas, came on board as the asylum’s Medical Superintendent, a role he held until 1875.  [[Queen Street Mental Health Centre|Click here for more...]]
+
It was closed and demolished in 1963. Dearborn High School was built on land that formerly belonged to the Retreat. A historic plaque stands at the corner of Michigan Avenue and Outer Drive, marking the site.
 +
 
 +
Notably, the hospital was designed along the same lines as the other Kirkbrides within the state. Also Florida state legislator and U.S. Senator Charles Wm. Jones (1834 - 1897) died in the hospital on October 11, 1897.  [[St Josephs Retreat|Click here for more...]]
 
}}
 
}}

Latest revision as of 10:42, 5 January 2025

Featured Article Of The Week

St Josephs Retreat


Stjosephretreat.jpg

The St. Joseph's Retreat was established in 1860 as the Michigan State Retreat. This was Michigan's first private mental institution, and allegedly catered mostly to the affluent. It was started by the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul. In 1855 the Sisters of St. Mary's Hospital began to care for the mentally ill, who had formerly been confined to prisons or the county poor house. In 1860, they opened a seperate facility named the Michigan State Retreat, which was incorporated in 1883 as St. Joseph's Retreat. The original building stood on 140 acres overlooking the Rouge River. It was later enlarged to house 400 patients. At first these were Civil War veterans, and later alcoholics, drug addicts, and other "incurables." The first telephone installed in Dearborn was at the Retreat in 1889.

It was closed and demolished in 1963. Dearborn High School was built on land that formerly belonged to the Retreat. A historic plaque stands at the corner of Michigan Avenue and Outer Drive, marking the site.

Notably, the hospital was designed along the same lines as the other Kirkbrides within the state. Also Florida state legislator and U.S. Senator Charles Wm. Jones (1834 - 1897) died in the hospital on October 11, 1897. Click here for more...

Retrieved from "https://asylumprojects.org/index.php?title=Portal:Featured_Article_Of_The_Week&oldid=44501"