Minnesota Security Hospital
Encyclopedia
The Minnesota Security Hospital is a maximum security psychiatric hospital
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...

 located in St. Peter, Minnesota
St. Peter, Minnesota
St. Peter is a city in Nicollet County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 11,196 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Nicollet County.St...

. It serves people who have been committed by the court as mentally ill and dangerous.

History

In 1866, the Minnesota Legislature approved the building of a state hospital for the insane, hoping to reduce the growing amount of mentally ill people in jails throughout the state. They first had to find an area willing to deed 20 acres (80,937.2 m²) of land for the hospital. St. Peter leaders bought a 210 acre (0.8498406 km²) farm for $7,000 and lent it to the state. Its first patient checked in December 6, 1866. The hospital soon became overcrowded, so the state built two other facilities in Rochester
Rochester, Minnesota
Rochester is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Olmsted County. Located on both banks of the Zumbro River, The city has a population of 106,769 according to the 2010 United States Census, making it Minnesota's third-largest city and the largest outside of the...

 and Fergus Falls
Fergus Falls, Minnesota
Fergus Falls is a city in and the county seat of Otter Tail County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 13,138 at the 2010 census.-Today:...

. The St. Peter one remained the main hospital. Other hospitals also opened to reduce the population of patients but either closed or turned into retirement home for the elderly.

In 1911, the St. Peter Hospital for the Insane officially opened and turned into the Minnesota Security Hospital.

The Rochester State Hospital closed in 1981, which led to the expansion of the Minnesota State Hospital. In 1985, the hospital's name changed to the St. Peter Regional Treatment Center.

Records

Records documenting the population and activities in the security hospital, including admission and transfer book (1911-1938), admissions index (1911-1963), daily movement of population record, dangerous insane (1911-1913), and scrapbook (1937-1987) kept by longtime Medical Director Dr. Charles G. Sheppard are available for research use.
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