History of Psychology – Tiffany Litton: Psychology 101

133 years ago, on October 23rd, 1883 marks the opening of the first state mental hospital in Salem, Oregon called the Oregon State Insane Asylum, or more currently known as the Oregon State Hospital. 320 patients were transferred/admitted to the hospital on opening day, including 102 female patients. Most of the patients were transfers from Portland’s Hawthorne Asylum, also a mental hospital, but not the state hospital.

The idea of the asylum was first proposed in 1862 by Addison Gibbs (Governor of Oregon) to provide care for “insane and idiotic persons”. The way of dealing with “insane and idiotic persons” at the time, for example, was a system in which the government paid Oregon citizens to “keep” mentally ill people and provide minimal care for them. Each county in Oregon was held responsible to deal with mentally ill people in whichever way they chose, Oregon archives just showed this particular case.

It took 20 years after Gibb’s suggestion to begin collecting government funds for the institution. The hospital was set to be built close to the state prison, which was probably not a coincidence. The hospital still remains in the same location today, and the road leading up to the building used to be known as “Asylum Avenue”. Dr. Horace Carpenter, a physician, was chosen as the hospital’s superintendent, or someone to oversee the hospital’s operations.

Oregon_State_Hospital_1920

Obviously, the late 1800’s psychologists and doctors were not necessarily rich in information and proven facts regarding patients admitted into asylums and how to deal/care for them. The hospital still continues to be functional today, and even had recent reconstruction to expand the buildings in 2009-2011. The hospital’s technology, methods, and research has improved and plans to continue to expand to help the people of Oregon who need it.

800px-Oregon_State_Hospital_Receiving_Ward_Building--west_facade_2

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