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Harrisburg State Hospital is one of
the oldest hospitals in the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. When
it was founded it had only one
building, the Dorothea Dix Cottage. It served 12 surrounding
counties, which had a population of
926,452 in an area of 8,000 square
miles. The facility provided over
150 years of service to
Pennsylvania's mentally ill, until
January of 2006, when it closed.
The Harrisburg State
Hospital was created as the
Pennsylvania State Lunatic Hospital
and Union Asylum for the Insane in
1845 to provide care for mentally
ill persons throughout the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The
hospital was the result of the
successful lobbying efforts of 19th
century social reformer, Dorothea
Dix. A nine member board of trustees
was empowered to appoint a
superintendent, purchase land, and
construct facilities near
Harrisburg. This board of trustees
received no compensation for their
work. In 1848, the name of the
hospital was changed to the
Pennsylvania State Lunatic Hospital
when $50,000 was appropriated to
begin construction. Patients from
all parts of the state would be
accepted at the hospital, at the
expense of the counties that they
belonged; or, if able they would pay
for themselves at a cost of $2.50
per week. This cost included board
and medical attention.
Originally
the hospital only had one building
which housed the administration,
staff, and patients. Built in 1851,
the Main
Building was designed following
the "Kirkbride Plan" which was a
very popular building style during
the late 19th century. The original
capacity of the building was 250 patients,
but was later expanded with the
removal of dinning rooms and the
addition of the North and South
Branch Buildings. A 130 acre farm
was located adjacent to the hospital
and provided work therapy for the
patients and also enabled the
hospital to be self supporting, by
growing its own food, and raising
its own livestock. When the first
patient was admitted on October 6,
1851, every poor district was
charged a $2.00 weekly maintenance
fee for the care of each indigent
patient. The boarding charges for
private patients were scheduled to
vary between $3.00 and $10.00 based
upon ability to pay. In 1869 the
Board of Public Charities was
created to inspect all public and
voluntary charitable institutions in
the Commonwealth and to report to
the legislature with recommendations
concerning their operation. For four
decades this unpaid Board and its
small staff had no authority to
correct the conditions it found with
in state institutions.
Nonetheless, by persuasion and
publicity they were able to improve
the quality of care in public
institutions. A major objective was
the removal of the insane from
almshouses to the Pennsylvania State
Lunatic Hospital and other state
hospitals. A Committee on Lunacy was
created within the Board of Public
charities in 1883 to oversee the
operations of these mental
institutions.
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NOTE: To learn more about the
early history of the hospital as
well as the Main Building please
read the history of the Main
Building before continuing.
CLICK HERE |
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The
early 20th century was a time of
great change for Harrisburg State
Hospital. The Main Building had
become old and was in need of
replacement. Between the years 1893
and 1912 the hospital was rebuilt.
The new hospital would be built
following the cottage plan at a cost
of $1,145,500.00 excluding labor.
The cottage plan grew in popularity
at the turn of the 20th century. The
basic idea of the plan was to have
multiple smaller buildings which
would house only one type of patient
each, rather then having all
patients in one large building. The
buildings would be connected
together by long, partially
submerged tunnels. The tunnels
allowed for patient and employee
movement between buildings during
the winter months, they also
contained the utilities, like steam
and electric for the buildings.
During the warmer months patients
would walk on walkways which were
built on top of the tunnels.
At its
peak
the hospital consumed
over 1,000 acres (4.0 km²) and
included more than 70 buildings.
The new hospital was designed and constructed by
Pennsylvania architects
Addison Hutton and John Dempwolf the
campus and buildings were meant to
represent an Italianate window. The
buildings on the male and female
sides of the campus mirrored each
other until the addition of new
buildings in the 1930s. At the
center or the campus were three
communal buildings where both female
and male patients were allowed to
congregate together. These buildings
were the
chapel,
kitchen, and
solarium.
In 1921
the name of the hospital was changed
to the Harrisburg State Hospital.
Also that year, the Board of Public
Charities was abolished and the
Department of Public Welfare was
created to administer all state
hospitals. With the completion of
the new cottage plan buildings,
the hospital had grown considerably
larger.
Its
patient capacity was 2,019, but at
one time it held as many as 2,441
with 437 on parole. The hospital was
self-sufficient with its own farm,
power plant, and stores; it became
known as the "City on the Hill".
During war time
there was a 50% shortage of
attendants, at the lowest level of
employment there were as few as one
nurse to 166 patients. In June of
1945 only 26 of the 92 authorized
positions on the male side were
filled. The manpower shortage
resulted in widespread curtailment
of services to both the public and
patients.
Up
until 1955 certain administrative
responsibilities, such as the
selection of the hospital
Superintendent and the enactment of
rules and regulations governing the
hospital were vested in the Board of
Trustees of the Harrisburg State
Hospital. In 1955 an amendment to
the Administrative Code authorized
the Department of Public Welfare to
assume administrative
responsibilities for the Harrisburg
State Hospital, relegating its Board
of Trustees to specific advisory
duties. This act also provided for
the appointment of a Commissioner of
Mental Health in the Department of
Public Welfare who assumed overall
responsibility for Pennsylvania's
mental health program.
Like other institutions
Harrisburg State Hospital’s patient
population began to fall in the late
20th century. This was due to new
medicines being developed and
finally deinstitutionalization. The
hospital was finally closed on
January 27, 2006. Today (2008) the
hospital sits on a two hundred acre
campus with stately buildings in a
country setting, in Dauphin County,
with a majority of its campus in
Susquehanna Township. There are over
fifty buildings still located on the
campus. The former hospital facility
now provides office space for many state
agencies.
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