Patients were also directed into work and other In the two years between 1834 and 1836, the patient population grew to 54 individuals -- 42 psychiatric patients, and 12 general patients. The primary treatment modality used during the period was called 'Moral Management' (see below). A history of the Hospital, published in 1943, reads: 'The hospital started in a building known as The Retreat, located on the ground now occupied by the Administration Building of the Johns Hopkins Hospital. The Maryland Hospital for the Insane, often informally referred to as 'Spring Grove,' was officially renamed Spring Grove State Hospital in 1912 when funds were appropriated for additional hospital buildings (Acts of 1912). by MedPage Today Staff October 22, 2021 Note: Despite his 'founder' status, despite Dr. Steuart's many other contributions, and despite the fact that he held the title of 'President of the Maryland Hospital' for many years (almost to the time of his death), there has never been a 'Sprigg-Steuart Building' at Spring Grove. In 1901 19,710 gallons of milk were produced by the hospital's herd of 24 cows. Market Street (now called Broadway) was to its west. 'The American Journal of Obstetrics and Diseases of Women and Children 26 (1892): 694-726.] The Dairy House survived on the campus of Spring Grove until the early 1990s when it burned to the ground in a fire that may have been set by an arsonist. However, Spring Grove RN's who do not wish to apply for this this national certification can participate in the Spring Grove Hospital Center Psychiatric Nursing Certification program. However, what had once been the Main Building's powerhouse and gas works, a building that was built at the same time and was originally adjacent to, but not part of, the Main building survives today as what is known as the Under the agreement, the two men took over the daily operation of the facility and continued to provide hospital services to indigent ('pauper') mentally and physically individuals, as well as to mariners and private (paying) patients. The presence of an abundance of mosquito-breeding wetlands in the environs and a generally warm climate led to a number of Yellow Fever Epidemics at the turn of the nineteenth century - and the decision to construct a public hospital was clearly partially related to this circumstance. In 1835 Dr. William Stokes, a graduate of the University of Maryland College of Medicine, was appointed as the hospital's first full-time State-employed physician. In addition, yellow fever patients were treated at the hospital during the several epidemics that occurred between 1798 and 1819. Following a largely unfavorable report by the American Psychiatric Association and (Acts of 1813). One of the conditions of the lease was that 'the building be exclusively appropriated as a Hospital for the insane, and diseased persons of every description.' (Note: Dr. John Mackenzie continued to serve as one of the hospital's treating physicians after 1834, and so, presumably, he did not stop admitting his private patients to the facility. This cottage seems to have been the first public hospital building in Maryland specifically for the treatment of mentally ill African-American patients. The nature of the problem is described in the following passage from the 1877 report of the Hospital's Board of Managers: 'As originally constructed, each ward or hall in the hospital was supplied with water closets [flush toilets], the contents of which were conveyed, by underground pipes, into the stream which supplies the hospital with water.' A temporary solution that was employed at first involved the digging of large cesspools ('earth closets') near to the hospital building. Moylan Building (originally known as the 'Children's Unit') in 1964. Based upon its committee's findings in 1836, the House of Delegates appropriated $30,000 to make major repairs to the hospital.. Hours of operation are Thursdays, 10 am to 2 pm, and at other times by appointment. Contact us. 3,120 were here. (Note: The name 'Spring Grove' does not seem to appear on maps from the period.) (See #17 on the For example, the Hospital had installed gas lighting fixtures by 1858. The report also indicates that there was significant disagreement over funding for furnishings and operating costs. (The lease was later extended.) Under the provisions of the State Government Reorganization Act of 1922, Spring Grove was placed administratively within the Maryland Department of Welfare and under that department's Board of Welfare (Acts of 1922, art. Such claims must be considered within the context of the growing anti-Catholic sentiment of the era, and must also be balanced against historic evidence of the many selfless acts of the order. In its long history it has been variously known as The Baltimore Hospital, The Maryland Hospital, The Maryland Hospital for the Insane, and finally as The Spring Grove Hospital Center. Mackenzie and Smythe to construct a major addition to the hospital, in the form of an 'east wing' (see below). In early 1812 the 'Treasurer of the Western Shore' (of Maryland) was directed to pay $5,000 annually, for three years, for the completion of several additional (interconnected) buildings that were already in progress. Although leased to Drs Mackenzie and Smythe, who controlled the day-to-day operations of the hospital, both the City of Baltimore and the State of Maryland maintained at least titular oversight powers during this period -- and both entities continued to provide some of the hospital's funding. Another report, written in 1947 and entitled, 'The History of Spring Grove State Hospital', says very little about the Retreat, but seems to condemn it through an unexplained passage (presumably taken from an unidentified earlier publication) that reads: '[The Retreat] suffered various vicissitudes during its career, and its success was far from flattering.'. To see a summary of the Hospital's 1951 Report to the Governor (includes information about treatments, staffing levels, new construction, and census) click HERE. With the approval of local trustees of the poor, county levy courts were authorized in 1817 to commit persons referred to as 'lunatic paupers' to the hospital, upon agreement by the county to provide an annual payment to the hospital (Acts of 1817).While no direct evidence exists today that slaves were ever used to staff the hospital, it should be noted that, during this period, similar institutions did use slave labor for certain tasks. At the time, most of Maryland's seriously mentally ill, as well as those persons who were referred to as 'inebriates' (alcoholics) or as being 'feeble-minded' (mentally retarded), were kept in local jails and almshouses -- if they were poor or indigent, or were not able to be cared for at home. It was made part of the Behavioral Health Administration in July 2014. This accusation was made in the literary work, There is also an implication that the original, i.e.1794, structure may have been incorporated into a larger hospital building later on (see below). There were originally 18 wards - 9 on each wing, spread out over three floors. Chancellor, M.D. ), It should be noted that J. Crawford Neilson not only was the architect that designed the Main Building, he oversaw its construction during the 19 years that passed between the start of construction, in 1853, and its completion, in 1872. In addition, at around this time, Spring It will be necessary to retain the gas in the building to prevent being entirely without light in case of some accident to the electric apparatus.'. Main Building (1853) had been built in accordance with the previous era's 'Kirkbride' plan of institutional design -- a plan that led to the construction of hospitals that consisted essentially of a single, imposing, often immense, even monolithic building. Spring Grove began the process of reintegration a few years before that, in1961. It is also reasonable to assume that the Retreat building remained in use by the hospital after 1798, at least temporarily, until the new building could be built and fully readied later in 1798 (see below). By the 1920s it had been converted into a medical facility and later an insane asylum and a retirement home. In a report written about the yet-to-be completed new hospital, Dr. William Steuart, the Resident Physician, referred to it as 'The new Asylum, at Spring Grove.' Convenient to DC, Baltimore and BWI airport, our 180-acre wooded campus feels more like a college setting. The property was located east of Market Street (later, Broadway), on a road known at various times as the 'Old Road to Philadelphia' and 'the (Old) Joppa Road.' [Roh, George H. 'The Relation of Pelvic Disease and Psychical Disturbances in Women. Their efforts were rewarded when, on November 2, 1797 (Spring Grove's official 'birthday'), the Legislature passed an act to authorize the erection of the facility. The lights have been attached to the present gas fixtures, with the addition of some new fixtures. He remained in that post until 1876. Accordingly, despite oral history that supports its existence at Spring Grove, it is not clear if the 'Inebriate Asylum' ever actually operated at the site. Nevertheless, these reports do indicate that the providers placed great emphasis on the importance of cleanliness, good hygiene, patient activities, nourishing foods, personal dignity, and freedom of movement. Although chartered and owned by the State, and at least partially supported by State funds from the beginning, the facility was originally overseen primarily by the mayor and city council of Baltimore. Several early documents refer to the institution as 'The Maryland Hospital for the Insane at Spring Grove.' Foster Wade Building). African-American females were transferred from Spring Grove to Crownsville one year later, in 1913. The building and grounds became the property of the City of Baltimore in May, 1798, when Captain Yellott consummated the purchase. With the active encouragement of Dr. Sprigg-Steuart and Ms. Dix, an additional $10,000 was appropriated by the General Assembly in 1852 to begin construction of the new hospital building. As might be guessed, this heating system quickly proved to be inadequate and the upper floors in this very large four-story building were reportedly always cold in the winter. However, according to a then contemporary newspaper account, at least one patient of the hospital was treated for a fever by phlebotomy. Springfield History, Although it is not known exactly when the Hospital accepted its first African-American patients, it is known that African-American patients were admitted well before the Civil War -- at a time when Maryland was still a slave state. The story may say more about contemporary perceptions of Mr. Hopkins than it does about an actual event. By the 1850s, Baltimore had expanded and the Maryland Hospital, which originally had been in a rural setting, found itself surrounded by the growing city. These newspaper expose's were complete with 'candid' photographs, and some of the photographs were taken, through the use of recently available portable flash-photography, during unannounced visits to the alms houses -- sometimes in the middle of the night. This year's gingerbread house in the Haunted Mansion's ballroom scene will feature a nearly 10-foot-tall edible version of the venerable haunted house with a man-eating wreath on the front. The oldest psychiatric hospital in the country is the Eastern State Hospital in Williamsburg, Virginia, which was founded in 1773 and remains in operation today as a psychiatric hospital. For example, the color red was thought to ease melancholia (depression), and red stained glass was installed in certain windows. The Dairy House survived on the campus of Spring Grove until the early 1990s when it burned to the ground in a fire that may have been set by an arsonist. Tuerk Building (originally known as the 'Nurses' Home' prior to the addition of its east wing.) However, it should be noted that originally the administrations of the two hospitals, Spring Grove and Springfield, were linked by the fact that Dr. Roh became the first Superintendent of 'The Second Hospital for the Insane (at Springfield)' in 1896 after he resigned his position as Superintendent of Spring Grove. In 1838 the hospital was again renamed, this time to 'The Maryland Hospital for the Insane,' one year before the General Assembly passed legislation that specified that the Maryland Hospital was only to accept psychiatric patients. Accordingly, the fact appears to be that by 1852 it had all but been decided that a new hospital would be built and that this new facility would need to be constructed at a location outside of the City of Baltimore. To view one of the records of an African-American patient of Spring Grove from the hospital's Centennial year, 1897, click on the image to the above right. The 'Kirkbride Plan' included Dr. Kirkbride's theories regarding therapies, psychiatric hospital design, and the management of institutions. In the following year, 1912, most of the remaining male patients of African descent were transferred from Spring Grove to Crownsville. The new wing can be seen at the far south (right) side of the Main Building in the 1927 aerial view, above. By the end of November 1852 the commission had hired an architect,J.Crawford Neilson (J. Crawford Neilson (1816 - 1900) was a noted Baltimore architect and was one of the founders of the Baltimore chapter of the American Institute of Architects. Other than Market St. (Broadway), none of these streets existed when the hospital was built. It should be noted that later references to the 'original building' (later, a part of the west wing) do not suggest that it was comprised of more than one original section, a circumstance that, in turn, would argue against any assertion that the earlier Retreat building was somehow incorporated into the 'original' 1798 structure. Furthermore, as noted above, its buildings seem to have been in such poor condition that the hospital was probably unable to attract many private, paying, patients. Accordingly, there was an increasing demand for respite care for infirm seafarers that were regularly arriving at the harbor. 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