Raymond Mental Hospital
| Raymond Mental Hospital | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Construction Began | 1919 |
| Opened | 1939 (as a mental hospital) |
| Closed | 2008 |
| Current Status | Closed |
| Building Style | Cottage Plan |
| Location | Raymond, AB |
| Alternate Names |
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History
Between 1910 and 1920, the Government of Alberta constructed six agricultural colleges across the province that were opened in two batches of three, according to Stewart Foss, a Raymond and District Historic Society member. The Raymond School of Agriculture (RSA) was opened in 1919 on the eastern outskirts of the small town, located about 40 kilometers southeast of Lethbridge. It served as a school for 11 years before the government was forced to close the doors in 1931.
The land that the buildings currently sit on was originally donated to the province by the Knight family, who founded the town in the early 1900s. From 1939 to 1965, the buildings re-opened as the commonly known Raymond Mental Hospital, and were renovated again in 1988 to become a long-term care facility that was eventually taken over by Alberta Health Services (AHS). The Raymond Care Centre was closed for good in 2008 and has sat empty ever since.
