The Commission inspected public and private institutions for the insane and advised their boards of managers. Furthermore, many individuals, including Ms. Dix, had emphasized for a number of years that efforts to treat psychiatric patients in accordance with the principles of Moral Management (see below) were generally not practicable in the middle of a crowded, noisy, urban area. Physostigmine are used today in medications to reduce intestinal spasm and give tone to relaxed muscular walls of the stomach and bowels. This newer system allowed for greater flexibility in terms of grouping patients by diagnosis and level of functioning, and it also tended to make expansion and future growth easier. However, it was roughly where McElderry Street is located today, were it to extend through the Hopkins Hospital campus.) A kitchen pantry, and eventually dining refectories and an amusement hall and chapel were located in at the rear of the center section. Furthermore, its monolithic design was badly out of step with the needs and sensibilities of a modern psychiatric hospital; and, in the days before "condo's" and "loft apartments" it probably wouldn't have lent itself to adaptive reuse. This same act required that 'one-half of [the Maryland Hospital]be appropriated to the accommodation of pauper lunatics of [the State of Maryland], who shall there be accommodated and treated at the expense of the county so sending such lunatic paupers; provided, the same shall not exceed one hundred dollars for each pauper lunatic so sent.' The Main Building had a Dr. Richard Sprigg-Steuart, who had been President of the hospital's Board since 1828 was replaced as its President by C.W. Timothy Learys got nothing on Baltimore! The creation of this second State psychiatric hospital helped to ease the growing pressure for admissions to Spring Grove. Please turn on JavaScript and try again. In 1901 there were 7,404 separate 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. However, problems with the plumbing became apparent almost immediately. Over the years, the Spring Grove continued to grow in size and, in short order, exceeded its intended patient capacity. The other major 'monumental' building on the campus of Spring Grove, the Bland-Bryant Building, was started in 1930. Enoch Pratt was among the distinguished local citizens who were affiliated with the Maryland Hospital in its early days. The 1836 report does indicate that the facility was clean, and that the patients were generally well cared for. structured activities. Although the completion of the Foster-Wade Building was the major construction project at Spring Grove in the 1920s, it should be noted that a large (100 bed) addition was added at the south end of the Main Building in 1926. Although construction was started in 1853, the Main Building was not substantially completed and ready for full occupancy until 1872. There also seems to have been some uncertainty as to the cost of the hospital's construction. Join us for a walk around the Spring Grove Hospital Center campus to see this partially abandoned historic facility where, among other things, the first and longest government-run psychedelic drug research program took place. Spring Grove Hospital Center is located at 55 Wade Avenue, Baltimore, MD. JavaScript is required to use content on this page. If you would like to comment on Spring Grove's History, or if you would like to suggest additions or corrections, please contact us at Despite the less than ideal circumstances for African-American patients at Spring Grove in the 19th and early 20th Century, conditions were far worse in the almshouses and jails -- where many mentally ill African-American Maryland citizens were confined. These were the so-called 'back wards.'. Additional sums of money were raised by a second lottery, and an additional $60,000 were directly invested by the lessees, although it is not clear if Mackenzie and Smythe invested the money personally or if it came from other private sources. Demand for fresh water was much greater than had been anticipated and it quickly became apparent that it outstripped the supply. As noted above, 'General' patients were treated in the middle sections of the building, and the wards that housed the convalescent patients were closest to the hospital building's main entrance. In addition, records indicate that the hospital was badly in debt, in part because of low reimbursement rates and bad debt by the various Maryland counties, many of which had often simply failed to pay for indigent patients from their jurisdictions, despite a legislative requirement that they do so. The old heating system that had included 13 separate hot air furnaces and five coal stoves, was replaced in or around 1864 with a single hot water heating system -- an improvement which was cited as resulting in significant improvement in both comfort and safety. However, several annual reports from the end of the 19th-century and Trevor J. Blank (Arcadia 2008), University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC), Adventist Rehabilitation Hospital of Maryland, Gladys Spellman Specialty Hospital & Nursing Center, Levindale Hebrew Geriatric Center and Hospital, Adventist Behavioral Health Eastern Shore, National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Spring_Grove_Hospital_Center&oldid=1148375769, Short description is different from Wikidata, Infobox mapframe without OSM relation ID on Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Spring Grove Baseball Club. from which the 'fresh' water for drinking and bathing was collected. gatehouses), were originally intended primarily for recreational purposes for use by staff and patients. 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. In the two years between 1834 and 1836, the patient population grew to 54 individuals -- 42 psychiatric patients, and 12 general patients. The State also maintained ownership. ), as well as an excavation contractor. Accordingly, $2,000 was deducted from the purchase price.) Other sources suggest that the new building may not have been completed until two years later, in 1800. Spring Grove Alumni Museum in the Garrett Building on the grounds of the hospital. For example, the board appointed all employees, from servants to physicians. Bland-Bryant Building (1930). http://www.msa.maryland.gov/. Join us and our guide Paul Lubell as we walk through three centuries of history that weaves together tales of yellow fever epidemics, Confederate traitors, and psychedelic scandal. These articles pointed to the fact that, following the Second World War, labor shortages and low funding levels for Maryland state hospitals, combined with an ever-expanding patient population in all of the state hospital, had led to grossly overcrowded conditions and dangerously low staffing levels. (It should be noted that locked door seclusion was still permitted, and reports from the period indicate that, usually, one or two patients were 'confined' to their rooms at any given time. Its roadbed was subsequently annexed by the hospital and there is no modern counterpart to it. However, presumably the Maryland Hospital had no official connection with the Confederacy during the war. The circular lawn seen in front of the Main Building in the above picture exists today as the "island" at the center of the traffic circle near today's Administration Building on Ash Street. However, the decision seems to have been essentially made by the late 1860s. This action, of course, raised the specter of the State losing its entire investment through foreclosure should the General Assembly continue to refuse to appropriate additional funding. Although the funds were appropriated by the State, and although ownership of the property rested with the State, the funds were placed in the hands of the Mayor of Baltimore, who, along with Captain Yellott and his associates, had served as member of the committee that selected the site. The haunted floor "I worked in a pediatric hospital and had always heard that the fourth floor right outside our oncology unit was haunted. An interesting footnote is the fact that the Sisters of Charity were later accused of using the Mount Hope Retreat to 'unlawfully imprison' and torture patients. It has also been called the 'Hospital for Strangers and Mariners,' the 'Hospital for Seamen and Strangers,' and as the 'Retreat for Strangers and Mariners.' The original site is now home to the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. This, in turn, caused the sewage to back up and pool in the stream's bed. While some counties simply reneged completely on their commitment to pay for those of their indigent citizens who were confined to the Maryland Hospital, other counties only paid a portion of the agreed upon rate of $100 per year, per patient at the time. The 'lodges' themselves, two of which are still standing (see response to wartime politics, the group of men who had originally been appointed to oversee the project (some of whom were reportedly Confederate sympathizers) was replaced in 1862 (Acts of 1862). In any case, the arrangement for gratuitous physician coverage lasted only about one year. While debate as to whether to maintain two state hospitals or simply transfer the Maryland Hospital from its original site in Baltimore to the new site in Catonsville continued for most of the time that the new hospital was under construction. The Maryland Infirmary [later known as the University of Maryland Hospital], founded by the College of Medicine's faculty, was not established until 1823. In addition, the hospital's operating rooms and other non-psychiatric medical services were located in the Foster Wade Building, prior to the erection of the Garrett Building in 1932. Also, in the early 1890s, Dr. Percy Wade experimented with the subcutaneous injection of Episom Salts as a 'purgative.' However, despite the change in the membership of the commission, the war continued to delay construction. At the same time, there was a growing awareness throughout the State of the need to provide more and better psychiatric services to Maryland's mentally ill African-American citizens. 100 N. Charles St. Examples of cottage plan buildings at Spring Grove include 1) Hager House, Hagerstown. Dr. Richard Sprigg Steuart, then President of the Board and Medical Superintendent, managed to obtain authorization and funding from the Maryland General Assembly for the construction of the new facility at Spring Grove. This name was used continuously (at least officially) until the hospital was formally renamed: 'The Spring Grove State Hospital' in 1912. The cost of construction need not exceed $400 per bed.' (One other source places the cost at, or around, $140,000.) It was noted, for example, that the Hospital and it's farm used approximately 13,000 gallons of water a day in 1877 -- more, it was pointed out, than was supplied by the city of Lowell, You may be trying to access this site from a secured browser on the server. (See below. Join us for a walk around the Spring Grove Hospital Center campus to see this partially abandoned historic facility where, among other things, the first and longest government-run psychedelic drug research program took place. Following the public outcry that was generated by the Maryland's Shame articles, the Maryland General Assembly allocated substantial funding for new construction and other physical plant improvements, along with money for better pay and significant infusions of new staff positions. 3,120 were here. Consistent with popular images of psychiatric hospitals at the turn of the 20th-century, baskets were among the products manufactured. 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 following classification system was developed by Dr. R. G. B. Broome, who was one of the Spring Grove 'Medico-Psychological' physicians (psychiatrists) in 1874. Instead, records suggest that certain patients were admitted and remained primarily because they were poor, homeless, elderly or physically ill. https://health.maryland.gov/springgrove/Pages/home.aspx, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, "James E. Steuart Papers, 1785-1955, MS 758 - Maryland Historical Society", "Baltimore County takes next step to purchase Spring Grove land", "Baltimore County makes move to purchase Spring Grove land for regional park | Maryland News Feed", "Hogan administration proposes selling Spring Grove Hospital campus in Catonsville to UMBC for $1", "Hospital sale to UMBC for $1 is approved", "Bd. J. Crawford Neilson is perhaps best known as the architect of the South Carolina State capitol building. In 1870, the legislature ordered the sale of the hospital's holdings in Baltimore City (Acts of 1870). Founded in 1797, it is the second oldest continuously operating psychiatric hospital in the country. Records from the turn of the 19th-century also indicate that African-American men often lived in tents on the Hospital's grounds for as many as eight months out of the year. The building and grounds became the property of the City of Baltimore in May, 1798, when Captain Yellott consummated the purchase. To prevent mistreatment of the mentally ill in Maryland, the Legislature created a body known as the Lunacy Commission in 1886 to inspect 'all public and private places where the insane [were] kept' (Acts of 1886). Among his other gifts was a piano. Women's Convalescent Cottages ('Stone Cottage' Group) and, more recently, the four The agreement allowed Dr. Mackenzie, the younger, to maintain control of the daily operations of the hospital and to be in receipt of any profits until his lease expired in 1834. White Building (originally known as the 'Disturbed Women's Building') was built in 1952, the Hamilton Building (originally known as the 'Admissions Building') in 1953, and the Construction of the Johns Hopkins Hospital buildings, including its trademark domed Administration Building, did not begin at the site until 1877 and was not completed for an additional 12-years.A $3.5 million endowment for what was to become the Johns Hopkins Hospital had been provided in Mr. Hopkins' will. Garrett Building (1932), the However, Spring Grove has traditionally used November 2, 1797, that date of the legislation that its establishment specifically as a facility for the treatment of the mentally ill. By all accounts, construction of the expanded facility started shortly after funds were appropriated and the site was officially selected in 1798. There are now fifteen colored insane in the hospital -- seven males and eight females, and three others have been received since the date of this Report. by MedPage Today Staff October 22, 2021 However, records from the early 1890s indicate that the Spring Grove executive staff lobbied against the creation of a second administratively independent State psychiatric hospital. The Maryland Board of Public Works on Wednesday approved the sale of the Spring Grove Hospital Center's 175-acre campus in Catonsville to the University of Maryland, Baltimore County for a nominal $1, despite concerns from mental health groups that the state lacks detailed plans to replace services provided by the centuries-old psychiatric facility. I worked three twelves normally but would pick up overtime and picked up a night shift. The first large land acquisition subsequent to the original land purchase occurred in 1909 when Spring Grove boughta43-acre farm that was located immediately to the southeast of the original property. While it was Dr. Gireaud's intention was to treat yellow fever with this preparation, it is interesting to note that what was then known as 'columba' is better known today as 'Saint John's wort,' a herb that has been used as a modern treatment for mild depression. Following a largely unfavorable report by the American Psychiatric Association and Unfortunately, the fate of the building used by the Retreat between 1794 and 1798 is not known. UMBC Campus Map.) Subsequently, the General Assembly passed a law which created a commission to 'select and purchase' a tract of land for the purpose of 'erecting a 200- to 250-bed hospital for the insane' (Acts of 1852).Although Ms. Dix is deservedly given much of the credit for the General Assembly's decision to authorize and fund the construction of a new facility, it should be noted that her lobbying efforts were made after she learned that there was already a formal proposal for a new hospital in Maryland. [10] The Maryland Board of Public Works voted 21 to approve the sale of the campus, with Hogan and Treasurer Dereck E. Davis supporting the lease agreement and Comptroller Peter Franchot dissenting, on May 15, 2022.[11][12]. As noted above, a report of 1843 says that the cost had been $154,000. Spring Grove Hospital Center, formerly known as Spring Grove State Hospital, is a psychiatric hospitallocated in the Baltimore, Maryland, suburb of Catonsville. When established, it was remote from the City, now it is surrounded by buildings on every side, subjecting the patients to the noises and excitements around them; and they, in their turn, disturbing the population by which this building is surrounded. As with any setting that provides for the care of vulnerable individuals, the possibility of exploitation and abuse was always present at Spring Grove. pressure on the upper floors was poor or non-existent, and, evidently, there were no 'water closets' (toilets) at all in the center section of the building. (The Pennsylvania Hospital did operate a free-standing affiliated psychiatric institute, the Institute of Pennsylvania Hospital, which was opened in 1841 and which closed in 1997.). Nevertheless, because the demand for fresh water by the hospital was so great, approximately three-quarters of the streams flow was diverted into the hospital's water system, and the streams remaining flow was inadequate to efficiently carry the sewage on downstream. A second physician was hired shortly thereafter. 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. This basic design scheme became the predominate style of psychiatric hospital construction throughout the United States in the second half of the 19th-century. 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. Accordingly, the Johns Hopkins Hospital, often thought of as a very old institution, wasn't actually completed until 1889. Steuart's building (known at various times as "The Main Building", "The Center Building" or "The Administration Building,") remained the main hospital facility for almost 100 years. No ghostly traditions or associations can haunt them -- no unpleasant scenes, nor the memory of any, nor bolts and bars, can disturb their peace of mind.' The Superintendent's House (commonly known as the 'Mansion') was built in 1940. It should be noted that this assertion has not been confirmed through primary sources. Dr. Wade's successor, Dr. Robert Garrett, oversaw the purchase of an additional 108 acres. firehouse; and several other After World War II, Spring Grove, along with other state hospitals -- not only in Maryland, but across the country -- suffered from chronic overcrowding. Stone Cottages were built in and completed in stages between 1935 and 1941, and the (The assertion that the Inebriate Asylums patients would be the Main Building's 'first occupants' seems to contradict the reports that the building had already been used for patient care as a military hospital during the Civil War.) In addition, yellow fever patients were treated at the hospital during the several epidemics that occurred between 1798 and 1819. The Rice Auditorium (officially known as the Thomas-Rice Auditorium) was opened in 1936. 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