Clarinda Treatment Complex
Encyclopedia
The Clarinda Treatment Complex was built in 1884 as the Clarinda State Hospital in Clarinda, Iowa
in southwest Iowa
. It was the third asylum
in the state of Iowa and remains in operation today. The hospital's many name variations include: The Clarinda Lunatic Asylum, The Clarinda State Asylum, The Clarinda Asylum for the Insane, and The Clarinda Mental Health Institute. It was built under the Kirkbride Plan
. The original plan for patients was to hold alcoholics, geriatrics, drug addicts, mentally ill, and the criminally insane. As of 2009, it was made public that, to save money, the state may close one of the four hospitals in Iowa.
floors
in the hosptial have been kept.
and Mt. Pleasant, but these were overcrowded. Recognizing the need for a third, a state commission selected the city of Clarinda to serve as its home in 1884. William Foster and Henry F. Liebbe of Des Moines
were retained as architects for the new facility. Construction began July 4, 1885, and the first patients of the then all-male institution took occupancy in 1888.
The patients at the hospital were thought to be no longer human, and therefore, many were abused, and some even died. The reasons for patient deaths were: grousome lobotomies, improper food and water, starvation and dehydration, abuse, surgeries, extreme climate, and various other forms of treatment.
The central building still remains as part of The Clarinda Treatment Complex. The hospital is not the only thing that occupies the campus, as in 1980, a minimum security
all male
prison
was built as the Clarinda Correctional Facility
. A museum was recently added to the complex and is full of historical asylum artifacts such as medical equipment
, paperwork, furniture
, photos and other relics. Tours of the asylum and the hospital are open to the public by appointment.
Clarinda, Iowa
-2010 census:The 2010 census recorded a population of 5,572 in the city, with a population density of . There were 2,180 housing units, of which 1,928 were occupied....
in southwest Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
. It was the third asylum
Psychiatric hospital
Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental hospitals, are hospitals specializing in the treatment of serious mental disorders. Psychiatric hospitals vary widely in their size and grading. Some hospitals may specialise only in short-term or outpatient therapy for low-risk patients...
in the state of Iowa and remains in operation today. The hospital's many name variations include: The Clarinda Lunatic Asylum, The Clarinda State Asylum, The Clarinda Asylum for the Insane, and The Clarinda Mental Health Institute. It was built under the Kirkbride Plan
Kirkbride Plan
The Kirkbride Plan refers to a system of mental asylum design advocated by Philadelphia psychiatrist Thomas Story Kirkbride in the mid-19th century.-History:The establishment of state mental hospitals in the U.S...
. The original plan for patients was to hold alcoholics, geriatrics, drug addicts, mentally ill, and the criminally insane. As of 2009, it was made public that, to save money, the state may close one of the four hospitals in Iowa.
Description
The Kirkbride is made of red brick with white trim in some areas. The administration section has a large clocktower and is kept in good condition to provide people with an idea of what the mental institution looked like when it was completed in 1886. Although the hospital looks like it did in 1886, the hospital has had many things replaced such as windows. Amenities have also been added such as electricity, running water, and other buildings including infirmaries and a minimum security prison that was established in 1980. Although things have been replaced and added, however, much of the original woodwork and tileTile
A tile is a manufactured piece of hard-wearing material such as ceramic, stone, metal, or even glass. Tiles are generally used for covering roofs, floors, walls, showers, or other objects such as tabletops...
floors
Flooring
Flooring is the general term for a permanent covering of a floor, or for the work of installing such a floor covering. Floor covering is a term to generically describe any finish material applied over a floor structure to provide a walking surface...
in the hosptial have been kept.
History
Prior to the construction of Clarinda, Iowa had two mental hospitals, in IndependenceIndependence, Iowa
Independence is a city in and the county seat of Buchanan County, Iowa, United States. The population was 5,966 in the 2010 census, a decline from 6,014 in the 2000 census...
and Mt. Pleasant, but these were overcrowded. Recognizing the need for a third, a state commission selected the city of Clarinda to serve as its home in 1884. William Foster and Henry F. Liebbe of Des Moines
Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines is the capital and the most populous city in the US state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small portion of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines which was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857...
were retained as architects for the new facility. Construction began July 4, 1885, and the first patients of the then all-male institution took occupancy in 1888.
The patients at the hospital were thought to be no longer human, and therefore, many were abused, and some even died. The reasons for patient deaths were: grousome lobotomies, improper food and water, starvation and dehydration, abuse, surgeries, extreme climate, and various other forms of treatment.
The central building still remains as part of The Clarinda Treatment Complex. The hospital is not the only thing that occupies the campus, as in 1980, a minimum security
Minimum Security
Minimum Security is a comic strip written and illustrated by Stephanie McMillan. It began in 1999, appearing in several alternative weeklies...
all male
Male
Male refers to the biological sex of an organism, or part of an organism, which produces small mobile gametes, called spermatozoa. Each spermatozoon can fuse with a larger female gamete or ovum, in the process of fertilization...
prison
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
was built as the Clarinda Correctional Facility
Clarinda Correctional Facility
The Clarinda Correctional Facility is a correctional institution located in the Page County community of Clarinda, Iowa. It is in southwest Iowa on the grounds of the Clarinda Treatment Complex...
. A museum was recently added to the complex and is full of historical asylum artifacts such as medical equipment
Medical equipment
Medical equipment is designed to aid in the diagnosis, monitoring or treatment of medical conditions.-Types:There are several basic types:* Diagnostic equipment includes medical imaging machines, used to aid in diagnosis...
, paperwork, furniture
Furniture
Furniture is the mass noun for the movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating and sleeping in beds, to hold objects at a convenient height for work using horizontal surfaces above the ground, or to store things...
, photos and other relics. Tours of the asylum and the hospital are open to the public by appointment.
External links
- http://www.kirkbridebuildings.com/buildings/clarinda/
- http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~asylums/clarinda_ia/index.html