Mount Pleasant Mental Health Institute
Encyclopedia
The Mount Pleasant Mental Health Institute was a psychiatric institution located in Mount Pleasant, Iowa
. Originally known as the Iowa Lunatic Asylum, opened in 1861. It is located on the same campus as The Mount Pleasant Correctional Facility
. There was also a labyrinth of underground tunnels which connect every building. Like most asylums of its time, it had a gruesome and dark history. Remnants of this are the graveyard, hydrotherapy tubs, and lobotomy equipment. It was the first asylum in Iowa and was built under the Kirkbride Plan
. It was the only hospital in Iowa to be closed after a massive fire destroyed most of the building and left the rest of the complex beyond repair.
. Over the years, the name was changed to the Mount Pleasant State Hospital due to housing of drug addicts, geriatrics, alcoholics, etc. The Mount Pleasant Mental Health Institute is the oldest of the four Iowa Department of Human Services
facilities serving persons affected by mental illness. In 1936, however; a devastating fire broke out and destroyed much of the buildings, leaving the rest of the buildings beyond repair. The only thing the fire really spared was a kitchen area in the back. In 1946, the facility reached its peak occupancy of 1,581 patients. Since 1945 however, new therapies and medications had helped decrease the facility's population, and the individual's average length of stay has been reduced from years to a matter of weeks. This allowed the facility to release many of its patients and eventually reassign the patients to the hospitals in Cherokee, Iowa
, Clarinda, Iowa
, and Independence, Iowa
, all three of which still stand and are in use today. It is known by many names. Some of these include: the Mount Pleasant Insane Asylum, the Mount Pleasant Hospital for the Insane, and the Mount Pleasant Mental Health Institute.
Mount Pleasant, Iowa
Mount Pleasant is a city in and the county seat of Henry County, Iowa, in the United States. The population was 8,668 in the 2010 census, a decline from 8,751 in the 2000 census. It was founded in 1835 by pioneer Presley Saunders.- History :...
. Originally known as the Iowa Lunatic Asylum, opened in 1861. It is located on the same campus as The Mount Pleasant Correctional Facility
Mount Pleasant Correctional Facility
The Mount Pleasant Correctional Facility is an Iowa Department of Corrections correctional institution located in Mount Pleasant, Iowa, United States. As of July 30, 2010, the institution has 891 inmates and another 44 in segregation in a 775-inmate facility, and 100 additional female inmates in...
. There was also a labyrinth of underground tunnels which connect every building. Like most asylums of its time, it had a gruesome and dark history. Remnants of this are the graveyard, hydrotherapy tubs, and lobotomy equipment. It was the first asylum in Iowa and was built under the Kirkbride Plan
Kirkbride Plan
The Kirkbride Plan refers to a system of mental asylum design advocated by Philadelphia psychiatrist Thomas Story Kirkbride in the mid-19th century.-History:The establishment of state mental hospitals in the U.S...
. It was the only hospital in Iowa to be closed after a massive fire destroyed most of the building and left the rest of the complex beyond repair.
History
It was constructed in 1855 at a cost of $400,000. The first patient was admitted in February 1861. It is a Kirkbride building, and was the first asylum in IowaIowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
. Over the years, the name was changed to the Mount Pleasant State Hospital due to housing of drug addicts, geriatrics, alcoholics, etc. The Mount Pleasant Mental Health Institute is the oldest of the four Iowa Department of Human Services
Iowa Department of Human Services
The Iowa Department of Human Services is a state agency of Iowa, headquartered in the Hoover State Office Building in Des Moines. The agency provides human services.-Juvenile correctional facilities:...
facilities serving persons affected by mental illness. In 1936, however; a devastating fire broke out and destroyed much of the buildings, leaving the rest of the buildings beyond repair. The only thing the fire really spared was a kitchen area in the back. In 1946, the facility reached its peak occupancy of 1,581 patients. Since 1945 however, new therapies and medications had helped decrease the facility's population, and the individual's average length of stay has been reduced from years to a matter of weeks. This allowed the facility to release many of its patients and eventually reassign the patients to the hospitals in Cherokee, Iowa
Cherokee Mental Health Institute
The Cherokee Mental Health Institute is a state-run psychiatric facility in Cherokee, Iowa. It has operated from 1902 until the present day, currently under the authority of the Iowa Department of Human Services.-Early years:...
, Clarinda, Iowa
Clarinda Treatment Complex
The Clarinda Treatment Complex was built in 1884 as the Clarinda State Hospital in Clarinda, Iowa in southwest Iowa. It was the third asylum in the state of Iowa and remains in operation today. The hospital's many name variations include: The Clarinda Lunatic Asylum, The Clarinda State Asylum, The...
, and Independence, Iowa
Independence State Hospital
The Independence State Hospital was built in 1873 as the second asylum in the state of Iowa. It is located in Independence, Iowa. The original plan for patients was to relieve crowding from the hospital at Mount Pleasant and to hold alcoholics, geriactrics, drug addicts, mentally ill, and the...
, all three of which still stand and are in use today. It is known by many names. Some of these include: the Mount Pleasant Insane Asylum, the Mount Pleasant Hospital for the Insane, and the Mount Pleasant Mental Health Institute.