Vermont State Hospital
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Vermont State Hospital, alternately known as the Vermont State Asylum for the Insane and the Waterbury Asylum, was a
mental institution Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental health hospitals, behavioral health hospitals, are hospitals or wards specializing in the treatment of severe mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, dissociative ...
built in 1890 in
Waterbury, Vermont Waterbury is a town in Washington County in central Vermont, United States. Although the town is still home to the Waterbury Village Historic District, the village sharing the name of the town officially dissolved as a municipality in 2018. As ...
to help relieve overcrowding at the privately run Vermont Asylum for the Insane in
Brattleboro, Vermont Brattleboro (), originally Brattleborough, is a town in Windham County, Vermont, United States. The most populous municipality abutting Vermont's eastern border with New Hampshire, which is the Connecticut River, Brattleboro is located about ...
, now known as the Brattleboro Retreat. Originally intended to treat the criminally insane, the hospital eventually took in patients with a wide variety of problems, including mild to severe mental disabilities, epilepsy, depression, alcoholism and senility. The hospital campus, much of which now houses other state offices, was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
in 2016. Partly as a replacement for this facility, the state currently operates the 25 bed Vermont psychiatric care hospital in Berlin, VT.


History

During the tenure of Dr. Eugene A. Stanley as superintendent (1918–1936), the hospital expanded – with a patient population peaking at 1,728 in the mid-1930s – and constructed a new three-story building specifically for the treatment of women. Stanley, who was an advocate of
eugenics Eugenics ( ; ) is a fringe set of beliefs and practices that aim to improve the genetic quality of a human population. Historically, eugenicists have attempted to alter human gene pools by excluding people and groups judged to be inferior o ...
, espoused
forced sterilization Compulsory sterilization, also known as forced or coerced sterilization, is a government-mandated program to involuntarily sterilize a specific group of people. Sterilization removes a person's capacity to reproduce, and is usually done throug ...
and advised the
Eugenics Society Eugenics ( ; ) is a fringe set of beliefs and practices that aim to improve the genetic quality of a human population. Historically, eugenicists have attempted to alter human gene pools by excluding people and groups judged to be inferior or ...
, to whom he provided patient records."Vermont State Hospital"
on the Asylum Project website The word, "Waterbury," used in a derogatory sense, was intended to convey to the listener that someone was either insane or was acting or talking in a manner disagreeable to the speaker (e.g. "Keep that up, and we'll be sending you to Waterbury.") The property was flooded in 1927. In 2011, Tropical Storm Irene flooded the property above predicted 100-year level. In 1963, the population started to decline. Empty floor space was converted into state offices.


Operations

Since 2012, the hospital has been affiliated with the
University of Vermont The University of Vermont (UVM), officially the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, is a public land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont. It was founded in 1791 and is among the oldest universities in the United ...
- UVM Medical Center Department of Psychiatry, and several other colleges and universities. The hospital runs a training program, the Vera A. Hanks School of Psychiatric Technology."Vermont State Hospital"
on the State of Vermont Department of Mental Health website


Facilities

In 2012, the property covered .


See also

* Brandon Training School * Brattleboro Retreat *
National Register of Historic Places listings in Washington County, Vermont __NOTOC__ This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Washington County, Vermont. This is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington County ...


References


External links


Official website
{{authority control Hospital buildings completed in 1891 Psychiatric hospitals in Vermont Buildings and structures in Waterbury, Vermont Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Vermont National Register of Historic Places in Washington County, Vermont Defunct hospitals in the United States 1891 establishments in Vermont