Brattleboro Retreat

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Brattleboro Retreat
Brattleboro Retreat
Opened 1834
Current Status Active
Building Style Pre-1854 Plans
Location Brattleboro, VT
Alternate Names
  • Vermont Asylum for the Insane
  • Vermont Asylum



History[edit]

Retreat Healthcare was founded as the Brattleboro Retreat in 1834, by a $10,000 donation by Anna Marsh as attested to in her will. The hospital was the first facility for the mentally ill in Vermont, and one of the first ten psychiatric hospitals in the United States. The new facility was patterned on a Quaker concept called moral treatment, a daring departure in the care for the mentally ill. Patients were treated with dignity and respect in a caring, family-like environment that included meaningful work, cultural pursuits, wholesome nutrition and daily exercise. In support of this philosophy, the Retreat pioneered an impressive list of hospital firsts: the first continuous patient newspaper; the first attendant's training course; the first gymnasium, camping programs, swimming pools and bowling alley, and the first self sufficient dairy farm; all reflecting the emphasis on physical well being.


Images of Brattleboro Retreat[edit]

Main Image Gallery: Brattleboro Retreat


Books[edit]

Brattleboro Retreat: 150 Years of Caring 1834-1984

Links[edit]