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==History==
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'''History'''
  
 
IMPORTANT NOTE: This was the second institution built for Milwaukee County at Wauwatosa. This institution was built to supplement the Milwaukee Insane Hospital, which was a semi-state institution and was separately administered.  
 
IMPORTANT NOTE: This was the second institution built for Milwaukee County at Wauwatosa. This institution was built to supplement the Milwaukee Insane Hospital, which was a semi-state institution and was separately administered.  
  
 
Milwaukee's first mental hospital, known as the Milwaukee County Asylum for the Chronic Insane, opened in 1880 on the County Grounds in Wauwatosa. The state reimbursed the county $1.50 a week for every patient in its care. At the peak of institutionalization in the 1940s and '50s, Milwaukee County housed some 6,000 people with mental illness in several locations. Accommodations were anything but lavish, usually two to a room, sleeping on cots and sharing a sink. There was no psychiatry or meaningful therapy, said Bill Baker, who worked there as an internist. People were basically drugged and warehoused.
 
Milwaukee's first mental hospital, known as the Milwaukee County Asylum for the Chronic Insane, opened in 1880 on the County Grounds in Wauwatosa. The state reimbursed the county $1.50 a week for every patient in its care. At the peak of institutionalization in the 1940s and '50s, Milwaukee County housed some 6,000 people with mental illness in several locations. Accommodations were anything but lavish, usually two to a room, sleeping on cots and sharing a sink. There was no psychiatry or meaningful therapy, said Bill Baker, who worked there as an internist. People were basically drugged and warehoused.
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A contemporary description from an article in The Milwaukee Journal - Jun 22, 1972 is at http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1499&dat=19720622&id=9cgdAAAAIBAJ&sjid=nygEAAAAIBAJ&pg=7102,1319647
  
 
There were three wards at what we then called the Milwaukee County Infirmary when I, B. Hanson, worked in the Activity Department in the late 1970's; two wards for men and one for women. There were 60 residents to a ward. Their beds were about 4 feet apart, with a nightstand for personal effects.  
 
There were three wards at what we then called the Milwaukee County Infirmary when I, B. Hanson, worked in the Activity Department in the late 1970's; two wards for men and one for women. There were 60 residents to a ward. Their beds were about 4 feet apart, with a nightstand for personal effects.  
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The former asylum stood on the grounds of what is now Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee and the asylum itself appears to have moved between several buildings on the grounds throughout the years.  Many of the original buildings on the grounds were torn down to make way for the building of a Childrens Hospital in 1980.  More information on the history of the asylum can also be found intertwined with the history of the Milwaukee County Home for Dependent Children that shared building space with the asylum for some time before the two separated. There has also been some confusion as pictures of the Milwaukee County School of Agriculture and Domestic Economy have been incorrectly tagged on the internet as being the old Milwaukee County asylum.  Much of this confusion comes form the fact that some of the land and buildings on which the county ag school was built were once owned and used as part of the county poor farm, which at one time may have housed some of the asylum patients.   
 
The former asylum stood on the grounds of what is now Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee and the asylum itself appears to have moved between several buildings on the grounds throughout the years.  Many of the original buildings on the grounds were torn down to make way for the building of a Childrens Hospital in 1980.  More information on the history of the asylum can also be found intertwined with the history of the Milwaukee County Home for Dependent Children that shared building space with the asylum for some time before the two separated. There has also been some confusion as pictures of the Milwaukee County School of Agriculture and Domestic Economy have been incorrectly tagged on the internet as being the old Milwaukee County asylum.  Much of this confusion comes form the fact that some of the land and buildings on which the county ag school was built were once owned and used as part of the county poor farm, which at one time may have housed some of the asylum patients.   
  
==Photo History==
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'''Photo History'''
  
 
This particular picture of the Milwaukee County Asylum is an etching and available on the standard Wikipedia page for the Milwaukee County asylum.  It is noted that the design and building of the facility was actually awarded to someone other than the person who designed this picture. The Wikipedia article states a Koch was picked over the designer of the picture, E. Townsend Mix. Mr. Mix is famous for building a lot of facilities in the Wisconsin area, mostly in Milwaukee and surrounding towns, but the Koch suggested appears to be Henry C. Koch who was a contemporary of Mr. Mix and also a famous architect in the area.  Henry Koch did some larger works in Milwaukee and in different parts of Iowa but is said to be most famous for his work on the Milwaukee city hall. I'll keep looking for a picture.  The picture is of an early Kirkbride style design, but the actual facility that was later built was probably more in keeping with the Cottage design, with several additions created over the years to separate the "chronically insane" from the acute patients needing more short term care.
 
This particular picture of the Milwaukee County Asylum is an etching and available on the standard Wikipedia page for the Milwaukee County asylum.  It is noted that the design and building of the facility was actually awarded to someone other than the person who designed this picture. The Wikipedia article states a Koch was picked over the designer of the picture, E. Townsend Mix. Mr. Mix is famous for building a lot of facilities in the Wisconsin area, mostly in Milwaukee and surrounding towns, but the Koch suggested appears to be Henry C. Koch who was a contemporary of Mr. Mix and also a famous architect in the area.  Henry Koch did some larger works in Milwaukee and in different parts of Iowa but is said to be most famous for his work on the Milwaukee city hall. I'll keep looking for a picture.  The picture is of an early Kirkbride style design, but the actual facility that was later built was probably more in keeping with the Cottage design, with several additions created over the years to separate the "chronically insane" from the acute patients needing more short term care.
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Included within the grounds of the institution was a cemetery for the purpose of burying deceased patients who were not claimed by their families or whose families could not afford a burial. State law required that the cemetery be located at least 200 rods from an institution treating the insane. This cemetery is separate from the Milwaukee County Poor Farm cemetery. Persons buried in 47-BMI-174 are not recorded in the Poor Farm burial ledger. A sign now pays respect to those buried in Potter's Field and shares some of the history. From 1852 to 1974 Milwaukee County buried the mentally insane, the poor and the unknown at little cost. They were laid to rest in four plots of land and forgotten. Some estimate there are 10,000 people in unmarked graves.
 
Included within the grounds of the institution was a cemetery for the purpose of burying deceased patients who were not claimed by their families or whose families could not afford a burial. State law required that the cemetery be located at least 200 rods from an institution treating the insane. This cemetery is separate from the Milwaukee County Poor Farm cemetery. Persons buried in 47-BMI-174 are not recorded in the Poor Farm burial ledger. A sign now pays respect to those buried in Potter's Field and shares some of the history. From 1852 to 1974 Milwaukee County buried the mentally insane, the poor and the unknown at little cost. They were laid to rest in four plots of land and forgotten. Some estimate there are 10,000 people in unmarked graves.
 
[http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/73170932.html Article about research of the cemetery]
 
[http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/73170932.html Article about research of the cemetery]
 
==Links==
 
*[http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1499&dat=19720622&id=9cgdAAAAIBAJ&sjid=nygEAAAAIBAJ&pg=7102,1319647 A contemporary description from an article in The Milwaukee Journal - Jun 22, 1972]
 
  
 
[[Category:Wisconsin]]
 
[[Category:Wisconsin]]

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