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Central State Hospital (Virginia)
Central State Hospital, originally known as the Central Lunatic Asylum, is a psychiatric hospital in Petersburg, Virginia, United States. It was the first institution in the country for "colored persons of unsound mind".
Central State Hospital serves the Greater Richmond Region of Virginia, providing forensic psychiatry and civil admissions ranging from short-term treatment to long-term intensive treatment for the most seriously mentally ill.
In 1848, the enslaved in Virginia could be admitted to private asylums if their owners paid for their treatment, but not all owners could afford it, and whites were always given priority admission. It was also believed that when black people tried to flee captivity, they were suffering from a mental illness called drapetomania, which Samuel A. Cartwright stated to be a consequence of masters who "made themselves too familiar with slaves, treating them as equals".
The Confederacy established a hospital for wounded soldiers at Howard's Grove in 1862. It was reassigned in 1870 to the treatment of "colored persons of unsound mind" and was the first to offer treatment exclusively to the black population of Virginia. Dorothea Dix visited the hospital in 1875, during her travels for mental health reform, and donated pictures and musical instruments.
In 1885, the patients from Howard's Grove were transferred to a newly built red-brick hospital trimmed with gray granite. It had a central four-story administration building flanked on either side by a three-story wing containing six wards. This arrangement, which is known as the Kirkbride Plan, was a symbol of moral treatment. The East and West Buildings were built on either side of the main building in 1890 and 1892 to treat more severe cases.
The Legislature of 1893 changed the title of state "asylums" to state "hospitals" and the lunatic asylum was renamed a state hospital. In 1896, a two-story brick pavilion was built and the hospital became one of the first to care specifically for people with epilepsy. Patients were classified and assigned to wards for the recent and acute, chronic, demented, sick, tubercular, epileptic, criminal and suicidal. The wards for the suicidal were the least furnished.
Mayfield Cottage was built in 1750 and was the oldest brick residence in the county. The hospital purchased the farm land on which it was built, and used it as a storehouse for many years.
In 1904, a one-and-a-half-story chapel was built as a multi-purpose space for religious services, dances, concerts, and graduation ceremonies for the hospital's nursing students. Its simple 80x50 foot Gothic Revival design was conceived by Dr. William Francis Drewry and constructed by G. B. Keeler & Son. Twenty-four fire hydrants were installed and a fire house was built. Drying machinery was purchased for the laundry and an internal telephone system was installed. Workshops were established for carpentry, shoe repair, broom- and mattress-making. These activities were used as occupational therapy.
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Central State Hospital (Virginia)
Central State Hospital, originally known as the Central Lunatic Asylum, is a psychiatric hospital in Petersburg, Virginia, United States. It was the first institution in the country for "colored persons of unsound mind".
Central State Hospital serves the Greater Richmond Region of Virginia, providing forensic psychiatry and civil admissions ranging from short-term treatment to long-term intensive treatment for the most seriously mentally ill.
In 1848, the enslaved in Virginia could be admitted to private asylums if their owners paid for their treatment, but not all owners could afford it, and whites were always given priority admission. It was also believed that when black people tried to flee captivity, they were suffering from a mental illness called drapetomania, which Samuel A. Cartwright stated to be a consequence of masters who "made themselves too familiar with slaves, treating them as equals".
The Confederacy established a hospital for wounded soldiers at Howard's Grove in 1862. It was reassigned in 1870 to the treatment of "colored persons of unsound mind" and was the first to offer treatment exclusively to the black population of Virginia. Dorothea Dix visited the hospital in 1875, during her travels for mental health reform, and donated pictures and musical instruments.
In 1885, the patients from Howard's Grove were transferred to a newly built red-brick hospital trimmed with gray granite. It had a central four-story administration building flanked on either side by a three-story wing containing six wards. This arrangement, which is known as the Kirkbride Plan, was a symbol of moral treatment. The East and West Buildings were built on either side of the main building in 1890 and 1892 to treat more severe cases.
The Legislature of 1893 changed the title of state "asylums" to state "hospitals" and the lunatic asylum was renamed a state hospital. In 1896, a two-story brick pavilion was built and the hospital became one of the first to care specifically for people with epilepsy. Patients were classified and assigned to wards for the recent and acute, chronic, demented, sick, tubercular, epileptic, criminal and suicidal. The wards for the suicidal were the least furnished.
Mayfield Cottage was built in 1750 and was the oldest brick residence in the county. The hospital purchased the farm land on which it was built, and used it as a storehouse for many years.
In 1904, a one-and-a-half-story chapel was built as a multi-purpose space for religious services, dances, concerts, and graduation ceremonies for the hospital's nursing students. Its simple 80x50 foot Gothic Revival design was conceived by Dr. William Francis Drewry and constructed by G. B. Keeler & Son. Twenty-four fire hydrants were installed and a fire house was built. Drying machinery was purchased for the laundry and an internal telephone system was installed. Workshops were established for carpentry, shoe repair, broom- and mattress-making. These activities were used as occupational therapy.