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Featured Article Of The Week
Hastings State Hospital Nebraska
With the state's population increasing, the need for another hospital became evident. In 1887, the legislature appropriated $75,000 for a "state asylum for the incurably insane" to be located at Hastings if the city donated 160 acres of land. The citizens of Hastings purchased 160 acres one mile west of the city limits. The land area was eventually increased to 630 acres. Patients were first received at the hospital on August 1, 1889, when forty-four were transferred from Lincoln. Melvin Meals was assigned Number One and remained a patient until he died in 1895. Through 1916, 4,115 patients had been received. In December 1916, there were 1,152 inmates, 405 women and 747 men.
Charles C Rittenhouse, Hastings architect, drew the plans for the building, a three-story brick with a tall central tower. In 1891, the north and south wings were added to the original building, and in 1902 the North Annex was erected. In 1904 an amusement hall was built where dances and entertainments were held for patients. During this period, the farm cottage and two greenhouses were built. 1914, a large dairy barn was built, and a herd of Holstein cows was milked daily. A medical-surgical building was erected in 1926, and in 1938, a psychiatric hospital was built. In 1957, the All Faiths Chapel was built with funds from thousands of donors. Click here for more...
