Difference between revisions of "Portal:Featured Article Of The Week"

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|Title= Foxboro State Hospital
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|Title= Brandon Asylum
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|Body= The Massachusetts Hospital for Dipsomaniacs and Inebriates was designed by architect Charles Brigham, and opened in 1889 to treat alcoholics. In 1905 the hospital began to treat psychiatric disorders, and by 1910 it was solely a psychiatric institution, and became known as Foxboro (or Foxborough) State Hospital. The hospital ceased most of it's operations in 1976, but the buildings have been used for other purposes such as file storage and haunted houses during the Halloween season. The layout of this institution was very unique; the original inebriate asylum consisted of a few isolated buildings that were later connected by very long hallways, which served as day rooms. Patient rooms were in wings that branched off to the sides, and the newest additions (circa 1950's) were dormitories that were covered in tile. Many cupolas adorn the roof, and the basement holds a surprisingly large eight body morgue. There are two cemeteries nearby holding around 1,100 patients with headstones marked with only a patient number and a grave number.
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|Body= The Brandon Asylum for the Insane, now known as the Brandon Mental Health Centre, had a rather peculiar beginning. Originally, the site was chosen as a home for a Provincial Reformatory for boys. At a cost of about thirty-thousand dollars (a significant sum for the time), the Reformatory was constructed and in June, 1890, it was ready to accommodate misguided young lads. The first Governor of the Reformatory was John W. Sifton, father of Clifford Sifton, and he was assisted by a Chief Attendant and a Matron. This trio was later nicknamed the “Mulligan Guard” in reference to their first inmate, William Mulligan. “Billy” Mulligan was a nine year old youth who had been sentenced to five years in the Reformatory for stealing mail from one of her Majesty’s Royal Mail boxes. Billy had the distinct honour of being the first and only inmate of the Brandon Reformatory. No new young “criminals” were forthcoming, and at a cost of about three-thousand dollars per year, the “Mulligan Guard” watched over their single charge.
  
The Foxboro State Hospital closed in 1976, however many parts of the building were put to re-use by various government entities. The hospital's Theatre was also home to the Foxboro Jaycee's haunted house one year. In 2004 the property was sold to a developer and early constrction began, and early in 2006 the buildings were almost completely prepared for either demolition or restoration. In July, 2006 a four-alarm fire ripped through a ward of the main hospital building. The fire was mostly contained to that one ward, and construction officials claim it will not impede their progress much. [[Foxboro State Hospital|Click here for more...]]
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Perhaps as a face-saving measure, the provincial government quickly sought an alternate use for the new and virtually unused facility. In the spring of 1891, an Act was passed in the Legislature transforming the Brandon Reformatory to an Asylum for the Insane. The Asylum was opened in May and was placed under the direction of Dr. Gordon Bell with the former Chief Attendant and Matron staying on as staff. Billy Mulligan continued to serve his sentence at the Asylum, at least for another year or so, although his quarters were separate from the dormitories housing the lunatics. The first mental patients, twenty-nine men and women transferred from Selkirk Asylum and the Provincial Gaol, arrived in July, 1891, and the Brandon Asylum was in business. [[Brandon Asylum|Click here for more...]]
 
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Revision as of 04:59, 7 January 2013

Featured Article Of The Week

Brandon Asylum


brandon.jpg

The Brandon Asylum for the Insane, now known as the Brandon Mental Health Centre, had a rather peculiar beginning. Originally, the site was chosen as a home for a Provincial Reformatory for boys. At a cost of about thirty-thousand dollars (a significant sum for the time), the Reformatory was constructed and in June, 1890, it was ready to accommodate misguided young lads. The first Governor of the Reformatory was John W. Sifton, father of Clifford Sifton, and he was assisted by a Chief Attendant and a Matron. This trio was later nicknamed the “Mulligan Guard” in reference to their first inmate, William Mulligan. “Billy” Mulligan was a nine year old youth who had been sentenced to five years in the Reformatory for stealing mail from one of her Majesty’s Royal Mail boxes. Billy had the distinct honour of being the first and only inmate of the Brandon Reformatory. No new young “criminals” were forthcoming, and at a cost of about three-thousand dollars per year, the “Mulligan Guard” watched over their single charge.

Perhaps as a face-saving measure, the provincial government quickly sought an alternate use for the new and virtually unused facility. In the spring of 1891, an Act was passed in the Legislature transforming the Brandon Reformatory to an Asylum for the Insane. The Asylum was opened in May and was placed under the direction of Dr. Gordon Bell with the former Chief Attendant and Matron staying on as staff. Billy Mulligan continued to serve his sentence at the Asylum, at least for another year or so, although his quarters were separate from the dormitories housing the lunatics. The first mental patients, twenty-nine men and women transferred from Selkirk Asylum and the Provincial Gaol, arrived in July, 1891, and the Brandon Asylum was in business. Click here for more...