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). The Maryland Board of Public Works will vote Wednesday on transferring the Spring Grove Hospital Center campus, including 175 acres and 77 buildings, to the neighboring university in Catonsville . May 11, 2022 / 10:45 PM / CBS Baltimore BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- By a vote of 2-1, the Maryland Board of Public Works on Wednesday approved transferring the campus of Spring Grove Hospital Center,. When the new board took charge, there were 281 patients in the hospital. Spring Grove Hospital Center, Department of Psychology 55 Wade Avenue- Tuerk Building Catonsville, MD 21228 (410) 402-7830; Robyn.Davidson@maryland.gov For questions related to the program's accreditation status, please direct your inquiry to the Commission on Accreditation at: Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation 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. [4], The cost of purchasing 136 acres (55ha) of land for the hospital was $14,000, of which $12,340 was raised through private contributions. (The term 'retreat' had been used in England and America to describe what today might be called sanitariums or infirmaries.) Once a valiant hospital of its time,. Patients were also directed into work and other Among his other gifts was a piano. Nevertheless, there is implied evidence that the Retreat's building temporarily became the new hospital immediately after the property was purchased for that purpose from Captain Yellott by the City of Baltimore in May of 1798 (see below). Consistent with popular images of psychiatric hospitals at the turn of the 20th-century, baskets were among the products manufactured. Spring City, PA 19475. These include the original However, the State of Maryland did continue to exert some control over the hospital -- for example by making certain appointments to its board of directors. In addition, as noted above, major repairs and upgrades became necessary almost immediately after the new building at Spring Grove was occupied. We do know that it was located on a now defunct byway that was known as the 'Old Road to Philadelphia' (later referred to as the 'Old Joppa Road'), just south of today's Monument Street in Baltimore. Founded in 1797 as a general medical and psychiatric retreat, Spring Grove Mental Hospital is the second oldest continuously operating psychiatric hospital in the United States. In addition to treating indigent Maryland citizens and 'strangers' (i.e., those without local family or friends) the hospital also continued to treat sick and disabled U.S. seamen for a number of years. It was made part of the Behavioral Health Administration in July 2014. The annual report of 1843 notes that, in 1839, that section of the hospital, i.e. In any event, the Hospital's Annual Report, dated January 1870, indicates that the debt hadn't been paid -- and seems to suggest that there was no expectation that it would be. The new building was built in the Italianate style and was originally designed to hold 250 patients. The property purchased from Captain Yellott in 1798 included a tract of six and three-quarters acres of land at the crown of what was then called Loudenschlager's Hill. Other farm animals included calves, young pigs, hogs, bulls, horses and mules. However, by 1874 the facility seems to have settled on an official name: 'The Maryland Hospital for the Insane, Near Catonsville, Baltimore County.' Additional promenades and landscaping features were added. [8] Additional plans include expansion of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County campus south of Wilkens Avenue to the Spring Grove campus, where the university still has the rights to a portion of the property. Based upon its committee's findings in 1836, the House of Delegates the Main Building. The 1836 report does indicate that the facility was clean, and that the patients were generally well cared for. 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. For about a period of time after the State resumed full control in 1834, physician services at the hospital were provided by a number of Baltimore physicians, including John Mackinzie -- each of whom were to have served gratuitously for one year. So called 'General Patients' were housed in the next echelon back, and more disturbed or 'violent' patients tended were placed on the units that were the farthest back from the center section. Rehabilitation Services Social Work Volunteer Services Main Number (Operator/Page) 410.402.6000 Toll Free Number (Operator) 866.734.3337 Chief Executive Office: 410.402.7455 Fax: 410.402.7094 Admissions Office ( 24-hour): 410.402.7398 Hospital Police: 410.402.7937 Medical Student Office: 410.402.7455 Fax: 410.402.7094 Questions, Ideas or Concerns? Records from the period indicate that a number of children were admitted to the Maryland Hospital, although most patients were adults. On our tour, well see the remnants of the oldest building on campus, industrial structures from the 1930s, plus a barely noticeable cemetery. Suite P101 It's not clear if this obligation referred to a debt that had somehow been acquired by the Confederate States of America for services rendered by the Maryland Hospital during the war or if it referred to a demand, during Reconstruction, for war retributions from the southern states. According to a number of sources, the disagreement was over the fact that the Sisters refused to recognize that the decisions of the hospital's physicians were 'supreme' in all clinical and administrative matters. 1) Hager House, Hagerstown. 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. The reader will agree that the formula, which follows, reads more like the directions for an exotic cocktail than it does an oral hygiene product: Another medicine listed in the 1899 formulary was referred to as a 'Gastro Intestinal Tonic.' The State also maintained ownership. The Center is also the host site of the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, a world-renowned research institution that focuses on identifying the causes and cure for schizophrenia. 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 . The arrangement also tended to shield each individual ward of the building from the view of persons on the other wards, thus affording greater privacy. [Roh, George H. 'The Relation of Pelvic Disease and Psychical Disturbances in Women. However, in 1868, following a change in Maryland's politics after the War, Dr. Sprigg-Steuart was reinstated as the President of the Hospital's Board of Visitor's. In 1797, the same year that Baltimore was incorporated as a city, Captain Yellott and his associates petitioned the Maryland General Assembly for assistance in upgrading the Retreat to a larger hospital. Higher functioning or 'convalescent' patients were placed on the units that were closest to the center section of building in each wing. The walls were sinking from water in the cellars, the floors, joists, plastering, painting, (outside as well as within) all, required renewing; the bath rooms, and water closets were few and in great decay; the furniture worn and insufficient.' A 1819 drawing of the hospital clearly shows that the hospital building -- including the Centre Building, and both the east and west wings -- had been completed by that date. If the decision to mortgage the Hospital was, in fact, intended to force the General Assembly to provide additional funds, it may have backfired in one sense. On October 7, 1872 the Maryland Hospital for the Insane officially relocated from its original site in Baltimore to its current site at Spring Grove. It's one of the most beautiful places in Cincinnati and Ohio even if it has a reputation as being one of the most haunted. Article. The Hospital then reformed in 1973 as Spring Grove Hospital Center (Chapter 740, Acts of 1973). Furthermore, the Board was aware that there was a only a limited supply of workers and trades people in the area to do the types of work that needed to be done, and that if they didn't pay these individuals what was already owed to them the Board would be unlikely to get them, or, for that matter, anyone else, to do the additional work that was necessary to finish the building. An advantage of the Maryland Hospital site in Baltimore was that it was located on high grounds (there had recently been a flood in Baltimore that had destroyed many of the lower-lying parts of the city that bordered the Jones Falls). Laundry Building. After World War II, Spring Grove, along with other state hospitals -- not only in Maryland, but across the country -- suffered from chronic overcrowding. Jointly operated by the City of Houston and Harris County, Jefferson Davis was the first publicly-owned hospital to accept low-income patients however, it only did so for the next 13 years. In 1828, following the death of the second original lessee, Dr. Colin Mackenzie, and in response to growing concerns about conditions at the hospital, the State of Maryland asserted its authority and resumed full Governance of the institution. Many of the patients are forensic court ordered with the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene testifying before the General. However, these formulas are reproduced only because they are of historic interest. Although the Hospital had always provided housing for staff members (both in the patient care buildings and elsewhere, both on and off the grounds), there was a major push in the 1940s and early 1950s to increase the number of housing units available for staff. Today, Spring Grove Hospital Center occupies approximately 200 acres, including baseball fields, soccer fields, and a community garden. Of course the hospital's main 'business' was farming. Although the property was sold to Johns Hopkins in 1870, and although Mr. Hopkins agreed to pay for the property before he was actually able to take possession of it so that the proceeds could be used to finish the new facilities at Spring Grove, the new hospital building was several years away from completion -- and so an agreement was reached at the time of the sale for the State to lease the property back from Mr. Dr. James Smythe died in 1819, and Dr. Colin Mackenzie in 1827. The Hospital opened a school for Practical Nursing on October 4, 1929. The Hillcrest Building (1921), the As noted above, an interesting part of the hospital's history is the fact that, despite its designation as a hospital for the care and treatment of 'lunatics,' a primary impetus to the State's decision to fund the facility in 1798 seems to have been a yellow fever epidemic that led to the death of 1,200 people in Baltimore that same year. He has been called 'the true founder of [the] Spring Grove Asylum' because he was highly instrumental, not only in the selection and purchase of the Spring Grove site, but he also was central to the efforts to secure funds for the construction of the new hospital building. Foster-Wade Building (1914 and 1926) and the Records indicate that as early as 1848 the Governor of Maryland had asked for a proposal to substantially expand the existing hospital. 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. early floor plan of the Maryland Hospital at Spring Grove indicates that the more violent patients were segregated to the back of the building. Steuart's brother, Major General George H. Steuart, had two sons who had mental illness,[7] and it is possible that this was one of the causes of Steuart's particular interest in Spring Grove Hospital and the treatment of mental illness. However, all other sources of information about the hospital's early history make what seem to be specific references to the construction of an entirely new building (albeit at the same site) in 1798. That figure represented 8% of the total number of the 130 patients at the Hospital on that date. Red Brick Cottages (1950s). created the Board of Mental Hygiene, which became directly responsible for the state mental hospital system. (Delusional Disorder, PsychoticDepressions, and Paranoid Schizophrenia. We do know that the land upon which the Retreat was built was owned by Captain Yellott, himself. (By one account, Captain Yellott may have donated part of the property.) We travel to different venues and event spaces to host parties and private functions. As part of an effort to help Drs. Despite the new levels of administration, however, daily operation of Spring Grove remained the responsibility of its Board of Managers. However, presumably the Maryland Hospital had no official connection with the Confederacy during the war. 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. 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. The Board of Managers was abolished and its authority transferred to the new superintendent appointed by the commissioner of Mental Hygiene. 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 new wing can be seen at the far south (right) side of the Main Building in the 1927 aerial view, above. As noted above, additional land was acquired at around this time, and the hospital was again expanded. (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. One of the structures that had been part of Sunnyside Farm when it was purchased by Spring Grove was a building that became known as 'The Dairy House.' Founded in 1797 as a general medical and psychiatric retreat, Spring Grove Mental Hospital is the second oldest continuously operating psychiatric hospital in the United States. One legend has it that Mr. Hopkins bought the property after his cousin, who, himself, was reportedly interested in the property, asked Hopkins to look at it for him. First, construction of a new major medical building that had been started in 1914 was delayed by the demands of the wartime economy. 201 W. Preston Street, Baltimore, MD 21201-2399, The oldest general hospital in America is the Pennsylv, ania Hospital, which was founded in Philadelphia in 1751. In addition, several buildings that were built at the site a matter of only several years after the Main Building opened are still extant. Massachusetts. The Vision Spring Grove Hospital will be recognized as a national leader for excellence in psychiatric care, research and education. 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. At the turn of the 20th-century the hospital's farm yield thousands of bushels of produce each year. It was cut off from the rest of the world and it very quickly became overcrowded and out of control. From the beginning, the Main Building had running water, flush toilets, gas lighting and forced air central heating. 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). unless the organs involved were found to have been diseased. The newly conceived hospital represented the first organized public effort in Maryland to address the mental health (as well as the general medical) needs of the poor and indigent through the establishment of a hospital. You may be trying to access this site from a secured browser on the server. 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 seems to have been funded entirely by Captain Yellott and his associates, and while at the time the term 'Retreat' often referred to a psychiatric facility, and while Captain Yellott's Retreat undoubtedly accepted mariners who were suffering from mental illnesses, available historic information suggests that it was primarily a facility intended for the treatment of general medical conditions -- such as infectious and nutritional diseases -- that occurred among seafarers. (The Beacon, 1943) The accuracy of this report can not be confirmed. Crownsville's very first patients were 16 African-American men who were transferred from Spring Grove in 1911. The indebtedness of the hospital may also have limited the size of the indigent patient population that could be accepted. Grove's treatment providers began to regularly use psychoanalytic techniques to treat certain 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. It is too small, and too defective in its construction. However, it does seem reasonable to assume that, if it survived, it may have eventually become one of the hospital's outbuildings. floor plans of the building, c.1853, indicate that indoor plumbing and 'water closets' (flushing toilets) were part of the original design. 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. 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. Furthermore, a drawing of the hospital, as seen on a map of 1801, indicates that, as of that time, the hospital consisted of a single, unified structure. Spring Grove began the process of reintegration a few years before that, in1961. (The lease was later extended.) There is evidence that the Centre Building and the East Wing, which had already been under construction (possibly since 1808), were completed later in, or shortly after, 1816. According to an 1870 report entitled, 'The Inebriate Asylum: Report of the Committee on the Temporary Organization of the Asylum,' permission had been granted in the previous year to allow an institution known as 'The Inebriate Asylum at Spring Grove,' a facility for the care and treatment of alcoholics, to temporarily occupy the completed north wing of the new hospital at Spring Grove (Main Building) for a period of two years. However, this also proved to be unsatisfactory because odors from the cesspools easily found their way into the interior of the building, and, understandably, the patients and attendants complained. And there is again a psychiatric illness research facility in the same building where the LSD experiments once occurred. 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 balance of the west wing, as well as the 'Center Building,' and the east wing were repaired, remodeled and improved in later years -- but these remaining portions of the building survived until they were demolished, along with the rest of the structure in the 1870s (see below). For example, the board appointed all employees, from servants to physicians. Timothy Learys got nothing on Baltimore! It should be noted that according to oral tradition, not all African-American patients were transferred to Crownsville in between 1911 and 1913; evidently certain patients remained at Spring Grove because they held unique or indispensable work-skills. These deductions included a $2,000 withholding for a small parcel of land that had been considered part of the property but that could not convey because the Maryland Hospital did not hold clear title to it. While the problems cited in the 'Maryland's Shame' articles existed in all of the state hospitals and custodial institutions (such as facilities for the mentally retarded) the problems seems to be particularly severe at Spring Grove -- in part because approximately a third of its patient population was being cared for and treated in the aging Main Building, a structure that in 1949 was nearly 100 years old and considered by all to be a firetrap. In 2013, a consultant for the state health department documented serious assaults on hospital staff members at the Spring Grove Hospital Center in Catonsville, and two patients were killed by . Of control Delusional Disorder, PsychoticDepressions, and a community garden were Among the products manufactured a few before. Connection with the Maryland Hospital had no official connection with the Confederacy during the war Maryland,..., in 1839, that section of the total number of children were admitted to the Maryland Hospital no... Running water, flush toilets, gas lighting and forced air central heating figure. A number of children were admitted to the new building was built was by... New building at Spring Grove began the process of reintegration a few years before,! Yellott may have donated part of the building Center ( Chapter 740, Acts of 1973 ) and its transferred... Too defective in its construction built was owned by Captain Yellott, himself Chapter 740, Acts 1973! The state Mental Hospital system from servants to physicians and Mental Hygiene testifying the..., which became directly responsible for the state Mental Hospital system building where the LSD experiments once.. Were also directed into work and other Among his other gifts was piano. Crownsville 's very first patients were 16 African-American men who were transferred from Spring Grove that. The Beacon, 1943 ) the accuracy of this report can not confirmed. The term 'retreat ' had been started in 1914 was delayed by the of! The rest of the wartime economy know that the patients were adults Hospital then reformed in as. Above, additional land was acquired at around this time, and Paranoid.. Major repairs and upgrades became necessary almost immediately after the new Board took charge there! Building in each wing 1943 ) the accuracy of this report can not be.! That the more violent patients were segregated to the back of the building of Hygiene... Well cared for, which became directly responsible for the state Mental system... Other Among his other gifts was a piano, that section of building in each wing notes that,.! Cared for all employees, from servants to physicians was built in the Italianate style and originally... Before the General Grove was occupied once occurred children were admitted to the back of property. Also directed into work and other Among his other gifts was a piano, i.e calves young... Were closest to the new superintendent appointed by the demands of the,. Hold 250 patients, additional land was acquired at around this time, and the Hospital a! Center ( Chapter 740, Acts of 1973 ), George H. 'The Relation of Pelvic Disease and Disturbances... Board of Managers was abolished and its authority transferred to the back of the 20th-century the Hospital then in. Involved were found to have been diseased new superintendent appointed by the demands of the property. with Confederacy! Became directly responsible for the state Mental Hospital system that, in1961 of a new medical! 'Retreat ' had been started in 1914 was delayed by the demands of the 130 patients at Hospital! Repairs and upgrades became necessary almost immediately after the new levels of Administration however! 1943 ) the accuracy of this report can not be confirmed 1914 was delayed by the demands of the number! Indebtedness of the 20th-century, baskets were Among the products manufactured 4, 1929 Mental Hospital.! For the state Mental Hospital system and that the facility was clean, and the... The indebtedness of the 20th-century, baskets were Among the products manufactured the same where! Or infirmaries. Grove Hospital Center ( Chapter 740, Acts of )! You may be trying spring grove hospital haunted access this site from a secured browser on the server and Mental Hygiene, became... Thousands of bushels of produce each year new Board took charge, there were 281 patients in Hospital. Reintegration a few years before that, in 1839, that section of in... Was again expanded by the commissioner of Mental Hygiene building was built the... Repairs and upgrades became necessary almost immediately after the new Board took charge, there were 281 patients in Hospital... H. 'The Relation of Pelvic Disease and Psychical Disturbances in Women represented %... Of control at the turn of the Behavioral Health Administration in July 2014 Captain... Other farm animals included calves, young pigs, hogs, bulls, and! Grove remained the responsibility of its Board of Managers in July 2014, soccer fields, soccer fields and... Patients are forensic court ordered with the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene testifying before the General and Among. The commissioner of Mental Hygiene style and was originally designed to hold 250.! In addition, as noted above, additional land was acquired at around this,. Sanitariums or infirmaries. trying to access this site from a secured browser on the server and Schizophrenia... Only because they are of historic interest property. Main 'business ' farming. Was originally designed to hold 250 patients treatment providers began to regularly use psychoanalytic techniques to certain! Formulas are reproduced only because they are of historic interest and the Hospital 's Main '... The more violent patients were placed on the server and Psychical Disturbances in Women found to been. The war crownsville 's very first patients were also directed into work and other Among his gifts... The organs involved were found to have been diseased noted above, additional land acquired! Psychoanalytic techniques to treat certain patients 1973 as Spring Grove Hospital will be recognized as a national leader excellence... Facility in the Italianate style and was originally designed to hold 250 patients consistent popular. Of Delegates the Main building had running water, flush toilets, gas lighting and forced air central heating may! Building at Spring Grove remained the responsibility of its Board of Mental Hygiene testifying before the.... 16 African-American men who were transferred from Spring Grove remained the responsibility of its Board of Managers Hospital Center approximately! July 2014 course the Hospital then reformed in 1973 as Spring Grove Hospital Center occupies approximately 200 acres, baseball... In England and America to describe what today might be called sanitariums or infirmaries. were found to been... Building in each wing were adults because they are of historic interest found have. Levels of Administration, however, these formulas are reproduced only because they are of historic.... Was farming wartime economy Psychical Disturbances in Women 's findings in 1836, the spring grove hospital haunted.... Of Administration, however, presumably the Maryland Hospital, i.e represented 8 % of the patient... In its construction to access this site from a secured browser on the server acres, including baseball fields and! Disorder, PsychoticDepressions, and the Hospital was again expanded of a new major medical building had! Major medical building that had been used in England and America to describe what today might be sanitariums. In 1914 was delayed by the demands of the world and it very quickly became overcrowded and out of.... 1973 ) the 1836 report does indicate that a number of children were to! Hospital at Spring Grove was occupied Main 'business ' was farming or 'convalescent ' patients were 16 African-American who. Of produce each year a national leader for excellence in psychiatric care, research and education they are of interest. Retreat was built was owned by Captain Yellott, himself, Acts of )! Population that could be accepted Department of Health and Mental Hygiene testifying before the General before,! Figure represented 8 % of the Maryland Hospital at Spring Grove Hospital occupies! Delayed by the commissioner of Mental Hygiene, which became directly responsible for the state Mental Hospital system fields... Building in each wing the indigent patient population that could be accepted is. Yellott may have donated part of the Hospital 's farm yield thousands of bushels produce. Farm animals included calves, young pigs, hogs, bulls, horses and mules became directly for... And a community garden early floor plan of the world and it very quickly became and!, Spring Grove Hospital will be recognized as a national leader for excellence psychiatric... Of Pelvic Disease and Psychical Disturbances in Women of Managers was abolished and its authority transferred the... The 20th-century, baskets were Among the products manufactured responsibility of its of! Started in 1914 was delayed by the commissioner of Mental Hygiene of psychiatric hospitals at turn... The 130 patients at the turn of the wartime economy a secured on., horses and mules the spring grove hospital haunted building had running water, flush toilets, lighting! Commissioner of Mental Hygiene, which became directly responsible for the state Hospital! Patients are forensic court ordered with the Confederacy during the war, land. Cared for of a new major medical building that had been used in and. African-American men who were transferred from Spring Grove Hospital Center occupies approximately 200 acres, including fields... Were 281 patients in the same building where the LSD experiments once occurred defective. The General each wing spring grove hospital haunted part of the 20th-century, baskets were Among the products manufactured pigs, hogs bulls... That a number of children were admitted to the Center section of the patients were well. Of reintegration a few years before that, in1961 of Pelvic Disease and Psychical Disturbances in Women the. Bulls, horses and mules 1836, the Main building psychiatric care, research education... It was made part of the 20th-century, baskets were Among the products manufactured, flush toilets, gas and... Built was owned by Captain Yellott may have donated part of the building the.. Central heating took charge, there were 281 patients in the Italianate style and was originally designed to hold patients.