Montana State Hospital - Warm Springs, MT - Bell Towers on Waymarking.com

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Montana State Hospital - Warm Springs, MT

in Bell Towers

Posted by:  T0SHEA

12T E 361869 N 5115737

This hospital for those with addictive and mental disorders was begun in 1877 and continues today as the Warm Springs State Hospital.

The hospital has operated since 1877 under a variety of names including Mitchell and Mussigbrod, Insane Asylum of the State of Montana, Montana State Hospital for the Insane, Montana State Insane Asylum, Montana State Hospital, and Warm Springs State Hospital. Its governing body is the Montana State Board of Commissioners for the Insane.

In 1934 the WPA allotted a $215,400 loan and grand toward construction at the Montana State Hospital in "Galen", now known as Warm Springs. We assume that, given the amount of the loan and grant, the WPA was either principally or entirely responsible for funding the main hospital building, shown below, which is located beside the older, 1919 Administration Building.

Atop this, the (then) main building of the hospital was erected a small bell tower, the first bell tower I've seen atop a hospital. It's a small tower, commonly known as a lantern. With a turned spindle atop an octagonal copper dome, this lantern is in magnificent condition given its age. We know that the building underwent renovations that were completed in 2011, so those renovations possibly encompassed this bell tower, as well. Why does a hospital have a bell tower? Either for decoration, or it actually served a useful purpose. Given that this building for many years housed criminally insane individuals, perhaps it was intended to warn of escapes.

In 1877 Drs. Armistead H. Mitchell (1831-1898) and Charles F. Mussigbrod (d.1893), owners of a hotel and spa at Warm Springs, Montana, were awarded the contract for the care of the territory's mental patients. By 1886 the partners had expanded their operation from 160 acres to 1640 acres and from two buildings to thirty-two buildings, including a larger hotel, a house for convalescents, a separate building for violent patients, a large plunge pool, a laundry, storehouses, icehouses, and many other outbuildings. From 1891 to 1907 the hospital was run by Dr. O.Y. Warren, who was in turn succeeded by Dr. J.M. Scanland, son-in-law of Dr. Mitchell. Under private operation, the asylum continued to operate the hotel and run a large farm, specializing in pedigreed cattle.

In 1910 a constitutional amendment was passed allowing the state to acquire the asylum. Negotiations were begun and on December 1, 1912, the Warm Springs hospital became a state institution. Dr. Scanland continued as superintendent. In 1917 the governor appointed a special commission to investigate charges of gross mismanagement and corruption at the hospital. The hospital management was exonerated of all charges. Gradually under state operation the emphasis changed from a custodial asylum to a hospital, as more modern procedures were adopted, but efforts were hampered by low funding. Care costs in 1938 of $.60 per day per patient were the lowest in the nation. As concepts of treatment of mental patients changed, the average patient load dropped dramatically from a high of over 1900 in the early 1950s to 1112 in 1972. Numbers of admissions per year were higher, but average length of stay was much shorter. Over the years the hospital operated under a variety of names including Mitchell and Mussigbrod, Insane Asylum of the State of Montana, Montana State Hospital for the Insane, Montana State Insane Asylum, Montana State Hospital, and Warm Springs State Hospital.
From the NWDA