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

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|Title= Terrell State Hospital
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|Title= Retreat State Hospital
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|Image= Retreat_Asylum_RPPC.JPG
 
|Width= 150px
 
|Width= 150px
|Body= In 1883, when word was circulated that the State of Texas was seeking a location for a second major mental facility and that it would be located in Northeast Texas, the competition among cities must have been quite similar to the quest for industry and other major developments that exist today.
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|Body= The Central Poor District was first set up in 1860 by an act of the State Legislature and 146 acres of land were subsequently purchased for the purpose of erecting buildings for the care of the poor. This land was located in Newport Township, Luzerne County along the banks of the Susquehanna River and about 14 miles from Wilkes-Barre. Outdoor pavilions were established to care for the poor on this land until 1878 when a need was seen for additional space and more permanent facilities. A Female Ward was erected in 1878, a Male Ward in1884, and an addition was added to the Male Ward in 1895. Together, these comprised the Luzerne County Almshouse.
  
Terrell was fortunate at that time to include among the citizens of a still young town a large group of people with the foresight to understand what such a facility could mean to a growing city. But even the farsightedness of legendary rancher and banker Col. Jim Harris, who gave the necessary acreage to the state for a meager return, could not have visualized the proportions to which Terrell State Hospital has grown today nor the immense impact it has had on the local economy for over 100 years.
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By 1890, the District took on the responsibility of caring for mentally ill patients and in 1900 the new Hospital for the Insane opened its door at the site. Sometime between 1921 and 1926 the name was changed to Retreat Mental Hospital, although it was still governed by the Central Poor District of Luzerne County. By an Act of the Legislature in 1937 the haphazard system of Poor Districts was abolished, and County Institution Districts were set up. Though County Commissioners assumed control of poor and indigent sick relief in the counties, management of individual institutions remained the same.  [[Retreat State Hospital|Click here for more...]]
 
 
A total of $200,000 was appropriated for the purchase of the property and construction of the original facilities.
 
 
 
It all began, officially, on February 16, 1883, when the 18th Texas Legislature enacted a statute introduced by Judge John Austin. The word "asylum"--by the original definition--was a place of refuge and safety and that, at best, was the primary service offered by mental facilities in the United States at that time.
 
 
 
Governor John Ireland commissioned the purchase of 672.65 acres of land located east of Terrell and offered by Jim Harris. This would be site for the branch asylum and the new institution was to be known as North Texas Lunatic Asylum. Its stated purpose was to provide treatment and care for the "chronic incurable insane" of the state's northern counties.  [[Terrell State Hospital|Click here for more...]]
 
 
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Latest revision as of 05:30, 26 May 2024

Featured Article Of The Week

Retreat State Hospital


Retreat Asylum RPPC.JPG

The Central Poor District was first set up in 1860 by an act of the State Legislature and 146 acres of land were subsequently purchased for the purpose of erecting buildings for the care of the poor. This land was located in Newport Township, Luzerne County along the banks of the Susquehanna River and about 14 miles from Wilkes-Barre. Outdoor pavilions were established to care for the poor on this land until 1878 when a need was seen for additional space and more permanent facilities. A Female Ward was erected in 1878, a Male Ward in1884, and an addition was added to the Male Ward in 1895. Together, these comprised the Luzerne County Almshouse.

By 1890, the District took on the responsibility of caring for mentally ill patients and in 1900 the new Hospital for the Insane opened its door at the site. Sometime between 1921 and 1926 the name was changed to Retreat Mental Hospital, although it was still governed by the Central Poor District of Luzerne County. By an Act of the Legislature in 1937 the haphazard system of Poor Districts was abolished, and County Institution Districts were set up. Though County Commissioners assumed control of poor and indigent sick relief in the counties, management of individual institutions remained the same. Click here for more...