When was this "asylum" opened, and what did it look like? Did it follow Kirkbride's design?
The St. Peter State Hospital opened in 1866. Housed in a temporary space – formerly the Ewing House, which served as a hotel – construction continued until 1875. Kirkbride oversaw the construction personally to make sure the needs of the community were met.
“The wings of the building were arranged in a linear fashion where two rows of cells ran down the corridor lining the walls. This ensured minimal interaction between patients so that they could not agitate each other, nor conspire against others in the facility. Some cells were completely solitary so that there wasn't another cell across from it. The permanent facility was made to hold 300 people, and the staff began moving patients into the completed wings on February 7th, 1870, and would continue to do so until the final wing was completed in the fall of 1874. In addition to the cells there were also common areas within the building that served as dining rooms, parlor areas, group bedrooms, a theatre and working spaces for those that were allowed out into the ward among other patients.
The first floor consisted primarily of day rooms, living spaces, rooms for the superintendent, matron and steward. The second floor had rooms for cooperative patients and the third floor had single rooms for confinement of violent and disturbed patients. One of the rooms on the third floor was a dark room where violent individuals could be secluded from the population. There they would hopefully be frightened back into control by being left in the dark for an undetermined amount of time.”
What was this institution's original intent?
St. Peter’s was originally founded due to the number of patients in Minnesota being moved to Iowa and St. Louis because a more local hospital did not exist. Patients were brought in due to a variety of illnesses, including “ill health from overwork and anxiety, intemperance, domestic trouble, death of a family member, masturbation, menstrual irregularities, disappointed ambition, exposure in the Army, desertion of a husband or wife, nymphomania, typhoid fever, excessive use of tobacco, prolonged lactation, murder committed at one’s residence, paralysis, epilepsy, senility, poverty, remorse, and money.” Patients would be treated using primarily rest, food, work for those that were able, and confinement for those who caused any trouble. Medications and tonics were administered as necessary. More extreme cases called for straightjackets, straightcoats, camisoles, muffs, wristlets, and cribs.
Who were the patients there? Do narratives of their experiences exist?
Very few patient accounts exist. The account of a man named John was recovered from a letter. He explains in lucid terms the strict policies of St. Peter’s and the limitations of freedoms, even when asking for his shoes because his slippers were getting holes in them. John seems to attempt to connect with the nurse as a peer through sharing insight and experiences. He also expresses concern for the large number of people attempting to escape, which was even logged in the daily books. Despite the open air and room for interaction provided by the Kirkbride model, patients at St. Peter’s were allowed little time to exercise these rights.
What was the patients' experience like in that institution, and did that change over the course of the institution's history?
As awareness and standards for the treatment of people with mental illness became a concern, the facilities became more and more updated. The original building was overflowing with people from all backgrounds and with any number of concerns. In 1911, the transition to the Asylum for Dangerous Insane focused efforts on patient care to specifically the needs of the most troubled patients. Finally, the transition to the Minnesota Security Hospital in 1957 provided the ability to focus specifically on more effective treatments for the “criminally insane” in a more appropriate environment for the patient’s safety. The facility continues to update its treatment options with the most evidence-based practices in order to provide the best treatment and rehabilitation possible.
Did the institution, its services, and patients change over time?
The St. Peter State Hospital became the Asylum for Dangerous Insane in 1911 and was then renamed the Minnesota Security Hospital in 1957. The Minnesota Security Hospital now provides in-patient treatment to those individuals the court deems mentally ill and dangerous.
How many people lived, worked, and died there?
Because the building was not fireproof, a disastrous fire took place on November 15, 1880 in the men’s wing of the hospital. 18 people died and 6 were unaccounted for. Unfortunately, it was difficult to get an accurate count of the dead because many others ran for their lives to escape the treatment at St. Peter’s. Records for the total number of patients are not available. However, the original building was created to house 300 patients, and the current facility can hold up to 646 patients.
Were bad conditions ever exposed to the public? How?
As early as 1888, the public was made aware of significant overcrowding and poor conditions within St. Peter’s. The commissioner appointed to inspect the asylum published his findings in the New York Times, including incidents of no restraints, high turnover in staff due to living on the ward with low pay and little time off, and the possibility of another fire. In a particularly horrible example of ignorance and intolerance, Robert Reid Rentoul published an article in the New York Times in 1903, adding fuel to the fires of hate and stigma for people experiencing mental illness:
“I shall attempt to prove that there are some degenerates who, although they may have a right to marry, have no right to beget a tainted offspring—one which may be a danger to the public welfare, to themselves, or a tax upon private or public charity. Such degenerates should be sterilized, and so rendered unable to beget offspring.”Rentoul alluded to the mentally ill by stating that farmers are selective of their stock and choose which individuals they will breed, and since humans have this capability, they should effectively carry this principal out among the population. However, if a tainted offspring was begotten, they shouldn’t be killed, but made sterile like livestock is. Rentoul believed that as humans “we must recognise that almost every degenerate has been produced by parents who have violated some law of nature.” Rentoul also believed that producing tainted offspring should be a punishable offense. In Minnesota, the Act of 1901 states that no woman under the age of 45 years of age, or man of any age—except if he marries a woman over 45—shall marry, if suffering from epilepsy, imbecility, insanity, or feeble-mindedness. In doing so, the legal penalty is a fine of $1000, or imprisonment for three years or both. Before two people could be wed, the courts had to deem the individuals sane or insane. If they were sane they could be married, and if they were not sane, they must abide by the Act of 1901 and face receiving treatment at an asylum.
Would you have wanted "treatment" in this institution?
As much as the idea of some time away from children and housework sounds glorious, I would not put my trust in the staff and community of St. Peter. At the time, the overcrowding and lack of effective treatments provided little solace or opportunity for improvement. The overwhelming numbers combined with the misunderstanding shown within the greater community created a reactive instead of proactive system, focusing only on restraining the most unruly patients and ignoring those who complied.
https://carceralhistory.dash.umn.edu/inthearchive/exhibits/show/st--peter-state-hospital
Drewry, W. F., Dewey, R., Pilgrim, C. W., Blumer, G. A., & Burgess, T. J. W. (1916). The
institutional care of the insane in the United States and Canada (Vol. 3). Johns Hopkins
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Erickson, W. D. (1992). " Something Must Be Done for Them": Establishing Minnesota's First
Hospital for the Insane. Minnesota History, 53(2), 42-55.
