THE ATHENS STATE HOSPITAL. Τ' HE Athens State Hospital was under the process of construction from 1868 until January 9, 1874, when the first patients were admitted. The first two admissions to the institution were Thos. Armstrong and Daniel Fernaw. Mr. Armstrong died within. a few months and Mr. Fernaw has been until now an inmate of the institution. Dr. Richard Gundry was made Superintendent of Construction in June, 1872, and remained Superintendent until the 15th of December, 1876, when he resigned to assume the superintendency of the newly constructed asylum at Columbus. Upon the resignation of Dr. Gundry the superintendency of the institution devolved upon the senior assistant physician, Dr. Thos. Blackstone, now of Circleville, Ohio, who managed its affairs discreetly and faithfully. On the 16th of January, 1877, Dr. C. L. Wilson, of Indianapolis, Ind., was chosen to fill the vacancy. He being declared ineligible by the Supreme Court, Dr. H. C. Rutter was elected by the board of trustees to fill the vacancy. Dr. Rutter was then a resident of Bellefontaine, Ohio. The next superintendent was Dr. P. H. Clarke, of Meigs county. Dr. Holden, of Zanesville, was then appointed to succeed Dr. Clarke. On the 6th of May, 1880, Dr. H. C. Rutter was re-appointed and he resigned his position in February, 1881, and Dr. A. B. Richardson was elected to fill the vacancy. Dr. Richardson resigned the superintendency April 17, 1890, and Dr. W. P. Crumbacker was appointed to the place. Dr. Crumbacker resigned May 19, 1892, and Dr. C. O. Dunlap was appointed. He resigned June 1, 1896, and Dr. E. H. Rorick was appointed to fill his place. While it can be said that the Athens State Hospital never had an inefficient superintendent it will be noticed on the other hand that two of the superintendents (Dr. Gundry and Dr. Richardson) attained a national reputation in their line of work. The original capacity of the institution was only 572, but by new arrangements and some additions to the buildings the capacity has been enlarged to 813. The greatest number of patients ever in the institution at one time, which has been during the present year, was 1,012. The institution is surrounded by grounds which are both spacious and beautiful, containing walks, drives, gardens, and artificial lakes, abutting on the south bank of the beautiful Hocking river. The present officers of the institution are: Board of Trustees-Dr. S. B. Lightner, Sabina, President; Virgil C. Lowry, Wm. H. Williams, Columbus; John Kaiser, Marietta, and J. P. Bradbury, Pomeroy. Resi The Athens State Hospital. dent officers-E. H. Rorick, M. D., Superintendent; Milo Wilson, M. D., Assistant Physician; Frank R. Lord, M. D., Assistant Physician, and Thos. L. Baxter, M. D., Assistant Physician; Kirk Kennedy, Steward; Geo. DeCamp, Storekeeper; Mary P. Rorick, Matron. THE CLEVELAND STATE HOSPITAL, T HE Cleveland State Hospital, with a capacity of one hundred and two, was opened March 5, 1855, by Dr. L. Firestone, with about fifty patients, whose disabilities required the attention of but one assistant physician. The district consisted of twenty-two counties, embracing about one-third of the state. The institution steadily increased in size and number of patients until September, 1872, when it was almost entirely destroyed by fire. But few lives were lost, however, and the patients numbering some three hundred, were temporarily quartered in the other public institutions of the city and state. An act providing for the re-construction of the building was passed March 18, 1873, and work was begun immediately. It was not completed, however, until January, 1875. Some years later the building was enlarged by the addition of six wards, and in 1893 two convalescent cottages were added, making our present capacity one thousand. Eighteen hundred and ninety-six and 1897 saw the construction of a beautiful amusement hall on the grounds of the institution. It has a seating capacity of eight hundred, the basement being fitted up with an improved system of bathing, lecture room, tailor shop, barber shop, etc. Religious services are conducted in the hall on Sunday, and a dance, in which both patients and employes participate, on Wednesday night of each week. In 1897 the congregate dining room was opened, in which six hundred patients are fed three times daily, during which time music is rendered by the orchestra. As the years rolled by, customs changed and the city built up, the footprints of Time were nowhere more clearly marked than in the State Hospital. From the old-fashioned "Lunatic Asylum" it has slowly but surely developed into one of the most modern and well-appointed institutions of the country. We now have our own electric light plant, ice manufactory, training school for nurses, detention hospital, and in fact all the conveniences and appliances of modern times that tend to further the solving of the great problem of caring for the insane. In the meantime, owing to the rapid increase of the population of both the city and state, and the corresponding increase in the number of insane to be cared for, other institutions of a like nature have been erected in the state, in consequence of which the Cleveland State Hospital district now embraces but six counties, which gives a daily average of eleven hundred patients. Cleveland township, in which the Cleveland State Hospital is situated, was not at the time of the opening of the institution a part of the City The Cleveland State Hospital. of Cleveland, but constituted what was then a part of the village of Newburgs, an incorporation separate and apart from the city. Since that time, however, Newburgh has been annexed to the city, and at the present time the southern city limit lies quite a distance south of the institution. The Hospital is situated on an elevated piece of land in the southern part of the township, the grounds occupying ninety-eight acres, the greater part of which is laid out in park. The stately building with its solemn grey stone walls can be seen for several miles, and is a noted landmark. Name. SUPERINTENDENTS. Term of Service. L. Firestone.. O. C. Kendrick.. March, 1855, to August, 1856. |