Kalamazoo State Hospital
Posted by: 
S5280ft
N 42° 16.713 W 085° 36.132
16T E 615257 N 4681649
Located at the entrance of the Kalamazoo Psychiatric Hospital, on the west side of Oakland Avenue, between Howard and Cass Streets. Parking available. The water tower in the center of the complex makes the hospital look a little like a castle.
Waymark Code: WM1G3W
Location: Michigan, United States
Date Posted: 05/01/2007
Views: 169
Until the 1840s the mentally ill received little therapy and often were neglected. Upon recommendation of Governor Epaphroditus Ransom, the legislature, in 1848, established Michigan's first state institution for the treatment of mental patients. Kalamazoo was chosen as the site in 1850. Construction of the first building began in 1854, but it was not completed for five years. The first patient was admitted on April 23, 1859. The superintendent, Dr. Edwin H. Van Dusen, anticipated many methods of treatment that later won general acceptance. Linda Richards, America's first trained nurse, was superintendent of nurses here, 1906-1909. This hospital was the first in Michigan to open an out-patient psychiatric clinic and to begin a home-boarding program. Adoption in 1910 of the name Kalamazoo State Hospital, replacing the original name, Michigan Asylum for the Insane, symbolized a new concept of mental illness.
Historical Date: 04/23/1859
Historical Name: Epaphroditus Ransom, Dr. Edwin H. Van Dusen, Linda Richards
Parking nearby?: yes
D/T ratings: 
website: [Web Link]
Registered Site #: State Site #0244
Description: Not listed
|
Visit Instructions:Take a photo of your GPS at the marker. We'd prefer a photo of you with your GPS, but we realize that sometimes that's just not possible or preferable.
Also include a bit about your visit to the marker.
NEW: Instructions for logging Missing Marker Visits.
If the Marker is missing, but still listed here, you must provide a photo of you at the actual item historically honored. (This should be the waymark's "default" image). Indicate in your log that you took your photo at the Historical Location instead of the marker, because the marker was missing. Please also still include a bit about your visit to the site.