Vermont State Hospital
| Vermont State Hospital | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Established | 1889 |
| Construction Began | 1891 |
| Opened | 1891 |
| Closed | October 20, 2011 |
| Current Status | Preserved |
| Building Style | Pavilion Plan |
| Architect(s) | Rand & Taylor |
| Location | Waterbury, VT |
| Peak Patient Population | 1,728 |
| Alternate Names |
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==History of VSH : One flew over the boy scouts nest
ties to the Boy scouts of America, Vermont Commission on Native Affairs and Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington == The Vermont State Hospital for the Insane was built in 1890 in Waterbury, Vermont, in response to overcrowded conditions at the Vermont Asylum for the Insane in Brattleboro (Brattleboro Retreat after 1898), Vermont's first and only facility for the care of the mentally ill. Originally built for "the care, custody, and treatment of insane criminals of the state," the Waterbury State Hospital eventually became the temporary or permanent shelter for Vermonters with mild to severe mental disabilities and others who had been committed for epilepsy, depression, alcoholism, or senility. Throughout its history, methods of patient diagnosis and treatment varied according to the philosophy of the superintendent.
Image of Eugene A. Stanley Early twentieth century efforts among reformers to reduce the stigma of mental illness and confinement in state hospitals yielded to the pessimism of the eugenics era, which brought back the stigma with a vengeance. It was during these years that Dr. Eugene A. Stanley directed affairs at Waterbury. An advocate of eugenics, Dr. Stanley testified in favor of the sterilization bills in 1927 and 1931, provided the Eugenics Survey access to patient records, and played an influential role as an advisor to the Eugenics Survey. He was a member of the sub-committee on "Care of the the Handicapped" for the Vermont Commission on Country Life.
Dr. Eugene A. Stanley (1875-1936) was born and raised in New Hampshire and educated at Cleveland University of Medicine and Surgery and Jefferson Medical College. He moved to Waterbury, Vermont in 1899, where he served as a health officer and assistant physician at the Vermont State Hospital from 1908 to 1918. He became Vermont State Hospital superintendent in 1918, succeeding Dr. Walter L. Wasson, who had perished in the influenza epidemic . Stanley held that position until his death in 1936.
During Dr. Stanley's tenure at the Waterbury State Hospital, the patient population grew, peaking at 1,728 during the mid-1930s. In 1931, Stanley convinced the state legislature to construct a new three-story building for the growing number of "acutely disturbed female patients." By today's standards, treatment of patients was primitive, at times barbaric. Typically women in this ward and severe epileptic patients were tied to wooden benches with "camisoles," which secured their arms in back of them. Hydrotherapy, where patients were immersed in continuous baths or placed in wet sheet packs, and "colonic irrigation" were standard treatments for disruptive patients; eventually electro-shock therapy and drug therapy replaced these treatments.
More able patients assumed various roles in the work of the institution, including custodial work, maintenance, and tending animals and crops on the institution-run farm in Duxbury. Dr. Stanley also initiated a system of industrial work for patients: assembling clothespins, shoe repair, and crafts such as making chairs, rugs, and baskets. The profits from these enterprises were used for patient entertainment and recreation.
=Hurricane Irene and other issues pertaining to wabanki nation and institutions
closure of VSH and the closure of wabanaki Indian residential schools in Vermont
In August 2011, hurricane Irene's flood waters flooded the valley which the closed complex stood. At one point the entire complex was underwater and partially destroyed by the hurricane. After the flood waters receded the campus was deemed unusable. The main complex was saved and has been renovated into the State Offices. The complex reopened in December 2015.
- Criminalization of wabanaki as wards of institutions Abuses are being investigated
*2018 Vermont Commission on Native affairs abuses and targeting of Wabanaki with reparitive justice programs after closure of BTS and VSH . Targeting of people and racial slurs of the term wabanki gypsys were used by the state bureau of indian affairs and ago office when missiquoi failed to meet requirements for federal Indian status
https://www.iromaniunion.org/ More info about romani union and mikmaq rights in Vermont and elsewhere
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Watertown
Title vii Indian education is currently being discussed to release people of the VCNA and Governmental schools for Indians to the commonwealth to access federal tribal rights in usa and canada and Truth and reconciliation for parochial abuses. i.e St andrews and VSH and BTS , Boy scouts of america inmate programs , institutional catholic physical , mental or sexual abuse (exploitation of vulnerable populations)
Books
- Empty beds: A history of Vermont State Hospital, by Marsha R Kincheloe
- http://www.danielnpaul.com/WeWereNotTheSavages-Mi'kmaqHistory.html
- https://www.amazon.com/Breeding-Better-Vermonters-Eugenics-Revisiting/dp/0874519527
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuremberg_trials
Images of Vermont State Hospital
Main Image Gallery: Vermont State Hospital
- Boy scout of america now in chapter 11 bankruptcy had troops and explorer post were at VSH , BTS and Weeks Schools Federal programs for reparative justice were in the community and at in the institutional setting. Brandon training school had a handicapt boy scout troop 111 as did the bsa exploers at Vermont state hosptial this goes back to the 1950s . Law enforcement exploers post 111 was run by the BTS and Deb Preseau and Chief Joseph N arduca and Vermont police academy
