Pennsylvania State Lunatic Hospital

About this property

Harrisburg State Hospital, formerly known from 1851 to 1937 as Pennsylvania State Lunatic Hospital, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, was Pennsylvania's first public facility to house the mentally ill and disabled. Its campus is located on Cameron Street and Arsenal Boulevard, and operated as a mental hospital until 2006. 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 future hospital was changed to the Pennsylvania State Lunatic Hospital when $50,000 was appropriated to begin construction. In 1851, construction of the Main Building designed by John Haviland was completed, which was initially the only building for the hospital, housing the administration, staff, and patients. It 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 dining rooms and the addition of the North and South Branch Buildings. 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. A 130-acre (53 ha) 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 within 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.

Location

Categories

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

More in Dauphin County

Historic places, battles, and census history across Dauphin County.

More historic places in Pennsylvania

Browse all historic places in Pennsylvania.

Conflict records

Explore 19,000+ military engagements across American history.

Pennsylvania history

Colonial settlement, territorial period, and statehood narrative.