Report of the Board of Trustees of the Michigan Asylum for the Insane for the years 1857-1858.

Report of the Board of Trustees of the Michigan Asylum for the Insane for the years 1857-1858.

Psychiatric hospitals.

Report created by the Trustees of the Michigan Asylum for the Insane to the Legislature of the State of Michigan, covering fiscal years 1857 and 1858. The Michigan Asylum was located in Kalamazoo. This report details the devastating fire, likely an act of arson, which destroyed one-fifth of the center building on the campus, the building in which most communal activities took place; no one was injured.

Board of Trustees of the Michigan Asylum.

Original document held by Traverse Area District Library.

Lansing: Hosmer & Kerr, Printers to the State.

1859

State of Michigan.

This document is in the public domain.

See other reports from the Board of Trustees from several psychiatric hospitals in the "Traverse City State Hospital" Digital Collection.

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English.

Document.

MSH0002

Michigan, United States.

R E P
OF THE

B O A R D OF T R U S T E E S
OP TEE

MICHIGAN ASYLUM
O R,

T IT

A MK

Hosmer & Kerr, Printers to. the Siate,
1859,.
V-

-

OFFICERS OF THE ASYLUM.
TEUSTEES.

LUTHER H. TRASK,

President.

J. P. WOODBURY,

.Secretary.

HENRY MONTAGUE,

Acting Oom'r.

E. H. VAN DEUSEN, M. D.,... .Medical Superintendent.

STATE OP M I C H I G A N
No. 13.

LEGISLATIVE, 1859.

REPORT of the Trustees of the Michigan Asylum for the Insane.
To the Legislature of the State of Michigan:
In obedience to the requirements of the statute, the Board
of Trustees of the Michigan Asylum for the Insane respectfully submit the following Report, for the two years ending November 30th, 1858 :
When we assumed the charge of the Institution, in the
spring of 1857, we found the center building and the extreme division of the south wing erected and slated. The
two-story portions of the wing were built up and ready for
roofing. The walls of the first transverse division had
been carried up as high as the second floor, and the second
transverse division was also ready for slating.
In this connection, we would express our entire approval
of the plans adopted, and the course pursued by our predecessors. Prom the knowledge we have been able to acquire in reference to the peculiar architectural requirements of such institutions, we are convinced that the building is very perfectly adapted to the purposes of its erection;
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and we find that it loses nothing, when compared with
even the more expensive asylums in sister States. The
patients' rooms are large and airy; the corridors are spacious and cheerful, and, with but one exception, open out
directly to the atmosphere at either end. The sitting and
work-rooms are commodious and well lighted. When finished, the facilities for separating the various classes will
be very complete. In fine, nothing, as far as the building
is concerned, which could contribute to the comfort and
restoration of tha inmates, seems to have been overlooked.
They have given a thoroughly professional basis to the
Institution, by adopting for their rule of action the embodied experience of the "Association of Medical Superintendents," as expressed in a series of " PBOPOSITIONS " on
Construction of Asylums, unanimously adopted at a convention held in Philadelphia, May, 1851. By the early appointment of a medical officer, "with the view of having
the building erected so far under his supervision as to secure his approbation when finished," all capricious modifications and changes in plan and policy have been avoided.
Dr. Van Deusen, who received the appointment of Medical
Superintendent, has rendered us invaluable assistance in
every stage of the work. Though retaining his position
as First Assistant Physician in the N. Y. S. Lunatic Asylum, at Utica, until October last, when directed by the
Board to assume his duties here, he has been in frequent
correspondence with us, and has visited the State whenever
his services were required.
Previous to 1857, the affairs of the Institution at Flint,
and of the Asylum for the Insane, were under the direction
of a joint Board of Trustees. The Legislature of that
year dissolved this connection; and, to give greater permanency to tha Board assigned to each Institution, very judiciously arranged their appointment in such manner that
the term of office of but a single member should expire at
one time. The wisdom of this course is very apparent.

No. 13.

7

At the same session," the sum of twenty-five thousand dollars for the year 1857, and a like sum for 1858," were appriated for the use of this Institution.
The Board was at once organized according to the provisions of the Act, and the work of construction was urged
on as rapidly as the limited appropriation at our disposal
would allow. During the succeeding summer and fall, theextreme division of the south wing was plastered, glazed,
and partially floored; joists were laid throughout the
entire wing ; the walls qf the second transverse division
were carried up, and the entire wing slated. The cupolas
were also built, tinned, and put in connection with the
foul air ducts. Stairways were erected upon the second
and third floors of the extreme division of the wing, and
in the attic of the center building.
At this stage of the work, the Institution sustained a
very serious loss in the burning of the center building, by
which accident nearly one-fifth of the portion erected was
laid in ashes. Very fortunately, with the exception of the
stairways and a few squares of flooring, but little of the
inside work had been finished. The building was ninetysix by seventy-two feet, four stories high,, with two octagonal projections in front, and surmounted by a cupola. It
contained the officers' apartments, kitchen and diningrooms, the business and medical offices, the general storerooms, and patients' reception rooms. Though not very
extensive when compared with the remainder of the Institution, it is essential to, and serves the most important
purposes in its operations.
At eleven o'clock on Thursday night, Feb. llth, flames
were discovered in the upper stories, at the south-west
corner of the building. The alarm was promptly responded to by the fire-department, and the citizens generally of Kalamazoo. Little, however, could be done to
save the building. Those first upon the ground, found the
entire upper portions wrapped in flames, and the cupola

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and its attachments fell almost immediately thereafter.
The fire-proof division between the wing and the center,
which will interpose aii effectual barrier to the passage of
fire from one to the other, was unfortunately in an unfinished condition, and the danger of the extension of the
flames to the wing was at one time imminent. At thig
juncture, however, the master builder at the Institution,
and the mechanics employed with him, stationed themselves upon the roof of the wing, and with the walls of the
center building tottering over their heads, remained at
their self-assigned post until all danger had passed.
We avail ourselves of this opportunity to express the
deep indebtedness of the Institution to their heroism, and
our high appreciation of the self-sacrificing and disinterested spirit they exhibited on that occasion. Though
each, in the destructiou of a valuable set of tools, sustained
a very serious loss, there is left to them the pleasing consciousness " of having well performed a manly part."
From a judicial investigation, instituted immediately
after the fire, it appeared that every ordinary precaution
had been observed, to prevent such an accident. The
person to whom was assigned the care of the stoves used
by the workmen, had performed his duties in the usual
manner ; and that the fire could not have been communicated in that manner was made apparent by the fact that
the part of the house in which they were was the last
burned. The only stove near the part first discovered to
be burning, was in a small room upon the lower floor; and
subsequently, in clearing the ruins, rolls of working-plans,
which were left tying about this room, were found crushed
by the falling walls, but untouched by fire.
The only plausible explanation of the cause of the accident is, that some person had visited the house for the
purpose of theft, and that the fire had ignited from a cigar
or pipe, or perhaps from the match used in striking a light.
This view is sustained by the evidence of two individuals,

No. 13.

9

both of whom, from different positions, saw a light moving
from room to room but a short time previous to the alarm.
The pecuniary loss, as nearly as can be estimated, is
122,000. Of the material selected from the ruins to be
used in reconstruction, a portion, perhaps, may prove unfit
for the purpose, but we think that the sum named will
fully cover the loss. IE reviewing this accident, we feel it
our duty to call the attention of the Legi?lature to the increased risk of loss and damage to the Asylum, incurred
by the delay in its completion. A distinguished writer on
" Insurance" remarks, that " unfinished buildings, even of
fire-proof construction, are never free from danger, and
that insurance rates should, in such cases, be proportionably higher."
It is now nearly five years since the Asylum was commenced, and any one who has had experience in building,
even to the extent of a farm-house, knows that the policy
of making small appropriations at long intervals, is anything but an economical one. No private individual or
corporation could afford to adopt such a policy. The
course hitherto pursued is certainly not a judicious one.
A sense of duty and justice compels every thinking man
in the State to say that the Asylum should be completed,
and the miserable condition of four huadred insane fellow
creatures scattered all about us, many in chains and cells,
demands its immediate opening. What advantage can
there be in delay ?
Facts which came to our knowledge almost immediately
after entering upon our official duties, convinced us that
no time should be lost in prepariug at least a part of the
Institution for the reception of patients. Letters were
constantly coming to us from the friends of insane persons
in almost every county, containing sad tales of the trials
and anxieties and dangers growing out of the afEiction
which had befallen them, all bearing the same inquiry—
" When will the Asylum be ready for patients 1"
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County Superintendents of the Poor, also forwarded communications, representing the serious inconveniences under
which they labored in endeavoring to provide for the insane committed to their charge. They had found, that
even with every facility they possessed, they could do
nothing to cure them, and but little to better their condition. None were discharged restored, a few occasionally
wandered away, and death came to the relief of more or
less each year, and still the number was gradually increasing. They were anxious to know if something could not
be done to lessen this accumulating amount of misery and
taxation.
We, therefore, felt it obligatory upon us to do all in our
power to meet, this necessity, and shaped our course accordingly. The fourth section of the Act under which we were
appointed, invests us with the " control and management of
the Asylum, and all its affairs in as full and ample manner
as the existing Board of Trustees." On referring to the
original statute establishing the Institution, we find its
early opening evidently anticipated, and with this special
view, certain powers and duties were delegated to that
Board which, by the Act passed at the last session of the
Legislature, were transmitted to us.
Until the occurrence of the accident of February llth,
everything was favorable to the attainment of the end to
which we were impelled by our duty, both as almoners of
the charity of our State, and as citizens whose eyes had
been opened to the fearful extent of the sufferings they
were expected to contribute in alleviating. By the loss of
the center building, very serious obstacles were interposed
to the carrying into effect of our plans for the early opening of the Institution. We found that the unexpended
balance of the appropriation would only suffice te replace
the loss, and that the Asylum would be no farther advanced, as far as the treatment of patients is concerned, than
it was at the commencement of the year. The same bal-

No. 13.

11

ance would also finish the wing for the reception of patients, but leave the officers unprovided for, and. in the absence of all arrangements for cooking, laundry work, &c.,
the Asylum could not even then be used. At this juncture, we directed the Acting Commissioner to communicate
with the Medical Superintendent, in regard to the feasibility of arranging apartments for the officers in some portion of the wing, and preparing for the treatment of at
least a limited number of patients,
We knew very well how essential the center building
was to the convenient and advantageous operation of the
Institution. It was planned to fulfill certain purposes, and
of course no other portion of the house could be made to
answer those purposes as well. We were aware, also, of
the many disadvantages under which the Medical Superintendent would labor in carrying on a partially finished
Asylum, even with the center building ; and we desired to
remove as many of the obstacles to its successful management as we possibly could. At the same time, we felt that
any farther delay in its opening should be no fault of ours.
Dr. Van Deusen's reply was to the effect, that the first.
and second floors of the first transverse division would afford temporary quarters for the officers, and that its third
floor, and the portions of the wing to the left of it, would
accommodate about ninety patients of one sex; that the
re-construction of the center building, and the erection of
the chapel containing the general kitchen, and the Infirmary, would render the first longitudinal division, with
accommodations for fifty-four additional patients, also available; and thus, that one hundred and forty-four, about
half of each sex, could be treated with a fair degree of
advantage.
This plan was adopted as the one which the interests of
the insane and the State most imperatively demanded, and
the balance of the appropriation has been expended ac-

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cordingly. We now earnestly recommend to the Legislature that it be carried into immediate and full effect.
DuriDg the past season, all labor about the Institution
has been directed with a special view to the completion of
the portions as above designated. To this end. there has
been required a large outlay for purposes other than those
for erection simply. Gas-pipes, for instance, had to be
laid throughout the house previous to the flooring, and the
attic tanks procured and riveted before the upper ceilings
were plastered. All work of this kind has been well and
permanentiy done, and not a single cent expended for temporary fixtures.
The tanks, three in number, constructed of the best
English boiler iron, three-sixteenths of an inch in thickness, are placed in the attics of the three-story divisions.
Their combined capacity is about nine thousand gallons.
These will be supplied by means of a force-pump from the
stream in the rear of the Institution, To serve in case of
emergency and accident, two large cisterns have also been
built in convenient and accessible locations in the rear
yards. They are of brick, laid in water-lime, thirty feet
long, eight feet wide, and seven and a half feet deep.
Their combined capacity is twenty-seven thousand gallons,
and they will be supplied from the roofs. A main sewer,
about four hundred feet in length, designed to serve the
purposes of the entire Institution, has been laid in the
ravine in tront of the center building. The branch sewers
of the scuth wing have also been finished and put in connection with the main trunk. They are furnished throughout with the most approved traps, constructed of the very
•best material, and in the most durable manner.
In the rear of the center building, there has been erected
a one story building, one hundred and seventy-eight feet
long and twenty feet wide. In the extreme rear is the
Toom for the reception of the boilers to be used in generating steam for laundry and cooking purposes, and for

No. 13.

13

warming the Institution. It contains, also, an engine,
laundry, drying and ironing-rooms, and a carpenter's shop,
Its external and division walls are of brick. The roof ia
covered with slate laid in mortar, and ventilating towers
with louvre sides, are placed over all the rooms.where
such provision was required. A large brick flue extends
from the boiler to the fan-room, in the extreme front, for
the passage of the steam-mains and service pipes. An
underground air-duct, eight feet wide and two hundred
and twenty feet long, has also been constructed, to connect
the fan-room with the distributing chambers, beneath the
building.
Messrs. Nason & Dodge, to whom our predecessors
awarded the contract for heating and ventilating the Institution, are now engaged in putting in as much of the apparatus as will be required for warming the portions of the
building we propose to occupy. Upon this contract there
will soon be due $5,000, less twenty per cent., reserved in
accordance with the requirements of the statute. The
proportionate expense of warming the portions designated
is, of course, greater thaa the entire contract would seem
to require. This apparent disproportion is explained by
the fact that the steam pump, mains, &c., are of the full
size whioh will bo required for the whole building. Here,
as elsewhere, we have studiously avoided all expenditures
for temporary fixtures and expedients.
The interests of the State, in every point of view, would
undoubtedly have been far better subserved had the first
appropriation been sufficient to construct the entire Institution. Contracts for labor, material and transportation^
could obviously have been made on more advantageous
terms. The Asylum would now have been in operation,
and we might even in this report have been able to present a gratifying account of high purposes fulfilled, of
great good accomplished, of misery alleviated, of reason
restored, and of afHicted fellow-creatures returned to them-

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selves, to their families and the world. The past, however, cannot ba recalled, and it is only left us now to
advise that course which its experience has suggested, and
which the present condition of the Institution, and the
insane in our State, demand.
First, as regards the insane and their condition. That
it is the duty of the State to make special provision for
this afflicted class, all will admit. Whatever may be the
social position of the patient, the same necessity exists.
The most liberal county, with every advantage which generous appropriations and the most enlightened effort can
secure, must fail to give its insane poor the peculiar treatment their disease requires. This is not a merely speculative conclusion, but the experience of many counties in
other States, acquired by costly experiments, which it
would be worse than idle for us to repeat. Again, in more
favored positions, every comfort, luxury and attention
which wealth and the tenderest affection can bestow, is of
little avail. The restoration of the patient, in almost
every case, absolutely requires removal from home, and a
resort to those means of treatment, medical and moral,
which a special institution alone affords. "Although, with
great inconvenience, the affluent might provide suitable
private accommodations, a large proportion of our best
citizens, all in moderate circumstances, no less than those
dependent on their daily exertions for support, without
some public provision, must be deprived of much that is
desirable, almost as completely as the pauper portion of
the community. The simple claims of a common humanity, then, should induce each State to make a liberal provision for all its insane, and it will be found that it is no
less its interest to do so, as a mere matter of economy."
Eleven years have elapsed since the passage of an act
for the establishment of an Asylum for the Insane in this
State. It is not to be supposed that the effort then made
was at all premature ; and if there really existed a neces-

No. 13.

15

sity for such provision at that time, how great must be
that necessity now! Providence has not arrested the progress of the disease, because the State has neglected to
provide for its victims. On the contrary, the causes which
produce it have continued in full and constant operation,
and the penalty of that neglect has necessarily followed.
No institution in our country has cured less than fifty per
cent, of all committed to its charge, and in recent cases
the proportion of recoveries is far greater. We have no
means of ascertaining definitely, but we know that a majority of those upon whom this affliction has fallen during
the last ten years, have been allowed to sink into hopeless
incurability, and the expense of their life-long maintenance
entailed upon the public. The number of insane in the
State is now about four hundred and fifty, of whom at
least three hundred are, at the present moment, proper
subjects for Asylum treatment.
The utterly wretched condition of a large proportion of
these helpless things, is well known. "We do not desire
to give greater publicity of the instances of inhuman neglect now disgracing our State. If required, to establish
the necessity of at once opening the Institution, the following extract from a late report of the Superintendents
of the Poor of one of our counties, upon the condition of
its jail, will suffice:
" The whole number of persons confined in said jail, during the six. months preceding the first day of November,
was one thousand and sixty-four, and they were confined
for the following causes, viz : Murder, three ; arson, one ;
burglary, six; grand larceny, eight; drunkedness and disorderly conduct, two hundred and thirty-eight; insane,
eighteen. * * * The prison is in a reasonable state of
cleanliness. * * * The prisoners say that they have
enough to eat; but many are in want of proper clothing.
* * * Some are shirtless, and some are without panta-

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loons. The turnkey of the prison says that those that are
destitute have destroyed their clothing. * * * * *
"There are four apartments, four cells in each. Three
apartments are for males and one for the females. The
prisoners dan freely converse with each other in their respective apartments, and it is impossible to prevent it.
" The jail is in a dilapidated condition. The cupola is
yet seriously complained of on account of its leaking every
time that it rains, materially damaging the building, and
making several of the rooms and halls damp and wet, and
the plastering to fall off."
The Superintendents of the Poor, who make the above
report, are not so devoid of humanity or so blind to the
interests of the county they represent, as to sanction any
such course as this. However painful to them, it is their
only alternative. The disease fastens it: elf upon one and
another,—eighteen in the short period of six months in
that single county—and they must be cast into a prison,
because the State has neglected to make the provision she
should for their care. It is for no crime committed that
they are thus thrust into a jail, and compelled to herd
with thieves and murderers. They are suffering under
the severest form of disease flesh is heir to, the poor victim may be one whose reason has tottered beneath the
cares and responsibilities of some of labor, duty and affection. A father, perhaps, of broken constitution, who has
sunk beneath his anxieties to provide for a suffering family; a mother, whose night-watches by the sick bed have
been exchanged for the sleepless vigils of insanity; or, as
was really the fact, a daughter, whose efforts to support a
widowed mother and an orphaned family, had been too
much for her frail strength. It matters not in what manner Q-od has visited the affliction upon them, they are insane, and the jail is their only refuge and security.
We need not speculate as to the probable condition of

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17

these unfortunates thus cruelly incarcerated, nor be Burprised if some in their wretchedness should tear the clothing from their bodies and rend themselves. Njr need we
ask how many of those eighteen will go forth from that
jail "clothed and in their right mind," and be again restored to the domestic circle and to the benefits of society.
Justice, economy and humanity, therefore, make it the
duty as well as the policy of tha State to make suitable
provision for all of its insane. This obligation has been
already recognized and discharged as f,tr as tin establish- '
ment and partial erection of the building is c >acerned.
We have shown the urgent necessity for its immediate
completion, and it now remains for us to suggest, and
urge upon your honorable body the adoption of the course
best calculated to meet the present exigency. As before
stated, a portion of the Asylum is now completed. The
Medical Superintendent who was directed in October last
to assume his position in order to supervise its internal arrangements, and to assist and advise us in preparing for
its opening, is here. We have succeeded, with the limited
means at our disposal, in preparing apartments for ninety
patients of one sex, and that number can be received as
soon as means are provided us for procuring the necessary
furniture and fixtures.
When finished, no other institution in our country will
be provided with more perfect facilities for the complete
classification of its patients, and tho entire separation of
the sexes. The portion of the house now prepared for
use, however, constitutes about two-thirds of the msde department, and of course has no provision for such separation. We are fully aware that the relief aff irded in receiving only one sex, will be but partial; but we dare not
jeopardize the success of our Medical Superintendent, or
peril the reputation of the institution, by incurring the
risks which would attend an attempt to treat both sexes
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without any means for Keeping them apart. The force of
this will be readily perceived. Indeed, when Dr. Van
Deusen assented to the plan proposed, it was under an aseurance we felt no hesitation in giving, that there should
be no delay in preparing the entire wing for patients, in
order to secure to him and the Asylum advantages for successful treatment, bearing some comparison to those enjoyed by his professional colleagues in sister institutions.
Nevertheless, the reception of ninety patients, even of
one sex, will afford great relief throughout the State. But
it is quite as necessary, both for the Asylum and the insane, that provision should be immediately made for the
other sex. This can be readily accomplished by the reconstruction of the center building, which will render the
first longitudinal wing, with accommodations for fifty patients, available, and without which the entire wing will
be useless. It will also be necessary to erect the chapel,
beneath which are the general kitchen and store rooms, an
infirmary, for the purpose of isolation in cases of infectious
disease, and the barn and out-buildings.
From estimates carefully prepared in detail, we find that
the sum required for this purpose will be 190,500 00, and
we respectfully, but very earnestly, urge upon the Legislature the appropriation of that amount. The Asylum
can then be opened for the immediate reception of ninety
patients, and in the following fall, the number will be increased to one hundred and forty-four.
In addition to this appropriation, there will also be required the necessary statutory provision for the administration of the affairs of the Asylum, and the control of the
officers. This is a matter of the highest importance, as
upon the proper organization of the Institution its success
solely depends. It defines the position of the officers,
assigns their duties, and creates those close restrictions
•uposii the exercise of power, essential to the perfect discipline of the Asylum, and without which virtue, talent and

Mo. 13.

19

fidelity, however well directed and combined, would labor
under every possible disadvantage. It has been said that
" a good organization makes good officers, good officers
make good attendants, and good attendants invariably good
patients." Poor vessels, properly officered and disciplined,
may weather destructive storms, and make successful voyages ; but we look for the certain loss of the ship, however good and staunch, which is insufficiently manned and
officered, and guided by incompetency and misrule.
Experience, when available, is the surest and safest
guide in all these matters ; and we are fortunately enabled
to secure that of the entire profession devoted to the
treatment of insanity in America. As the result of years
of observation, they have given us two series of propositions, the one on " Construction" and the other on " Organization," to serve as a guide in the establishment of
Institutions for the Insane. By the use of the former, we
have secured a building acknowledged to have no superior ;
and as the more important matter of organization is left
with the Legislature, we advise a close adherence to the principles embodied in the latter ; and for this purpose present
these "PROPOSITIONS" in the appendix of the present report.
A reference to the estimates in detail, as presented on
another page, will show that the sum above given, $90,500,
is the least which can be advantageously used, a less
amount will seriously embarrass the operations of the Institution, make it necessary to leave a large portion of the
building useless and unoccupied, and materially increase
the expense of treating the limited number received.
We urge the claims of the Institution the more strenuously, because of a feeling very general throughout the
State, that there has been great remissness and an unwarrantable delay in providing for the insane. We have endeavored faithfully and conscientiously to discharge the
duty delegated to us, and now leave the matter with the
Legislature trusting that they will feel the great respon-

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Doc. No, 13.

sibility which is resting upon them, and will hasten to extend that relief which is required by justice and humanity,
a sound economy, an enlightened policy, and the gratitude
we owe a merciful Providence for our exemption from this
terrible affliction.

LUTHER H. TRiSK,
J. P. WOODBURY,
HENRY MONTAGUE.

APPENDIX,

STATEMENT of Receipts and Iswoursetnents on account
of the Michigan Asylum for the Insane, for the years
1857-8.
BECEIPTS.

By warrants drawn on the State Treasurer,.... $44,000 00
From other sources,
208 40
Total

$44,208 40
DISBUBSEMENTS.

For lumber,
$ 4,273 81
carpenter and joiner work,
10,688 62
blacksmithing,
352 15
bricks,
;. 3,100 00
cast-iron window-sash,
2,825 41
common labor and team-work,
2,701 87
painting, glass and glazing,
2,122 65
hardware, tin, copper, nails and tinning,.. 2,781 51
stone,
1,023 14
slating roofs, .,
3,417 66
mason work,
7,252 20
gas-pipe and
fittings,
473 02
freight charges, M, C. R. R.,
525 67
water-lime,
569 30
wood,
45 50
wages of watchman,
275 00
castings,
284 83
hot-water boiler,
,
239 21
expenses and services of Medical Sup't,...
513 33
Nason & Dodge, on heating and ventilating
contract,
427 46
contingent expenses,
118 89
Cash on hand,
119 17
$44.208 40
HENRY MONTAGUE,
Acting Commissioner.
KAIAMAZOO, December 1, 1858.

ESTIMA TES of Moneys required for Material, Labor,
Furnilui-e and Fixtures, to complete the Asylum for the
reception <>f one huwlred and forty -fuur patients. Arranged from estimates in detail.
Bath-tubs, water-closets, connections, &c.,
$ 2,621 97
Apothecary shop, stock arid
fixtures,.
700 00
Gas
fixtures,
325 00
Finishing and fitting up boiler room,
350 00
"
"
engine room,
78240
"
"
laundry,
2,249 30
"
"
drying room,
1,220 00
"
"
ironing room,
280 00
"
"
shops,
758 80
Ranges, steam-cooking apparatus, <fec,
1,400 00
Barns, out-buildings, stock, implements, &c.,... 4,500 00
Re-construction of the center building,
22,000 00
Finishing
"
"
8,000 00
Building fur chapel, general kitchen, <fec.,
12,000 00
Male Infirmary,.
5,000 00
Finishing first longitudinal division,
8,437 53
Finishing and fitting up Infirmary,
700 00
Additional tanks and connections,
1,000 00
Heating and ventilating,
13,300 00
Fitting up general store-rooms
700 00
Gas fixtur s for first long, division and center,.
275 00
Expenses conveying gas to the Asylum,
2,500 00
Connecting sewers for kitchen and center,
400 00
Fencing and grading grounds,
1,000 00
$90500 00
For the erection of the north wing, not yet commenced,
there will be required the sum of $90,000.

INFIRMARY

FOR

FEMALES

rnrnq
Urn:
i
—i

pin ii urn i
JlIID\. i[TTTTl
W A R D S

FOR

MALE

MICHIGAN

P A T I E N T S

ASYLUM

W A R D S

FOR

THE

INSANE,

F O R

F E M A L E

KALAMAZOO.

PATIENTS

EXPLANATION OP THE PLATE.

In the accompanying plate, all portions of the Institution represented in shaded lines are already built, with
the exception of the "infirmary for males," and the chapel
and kitchen (U). The foundation and basement walls of
the centre building, immediately in front of the chapel (U),
are in condition to receive the superstructure. The portions represented in outline are not yet commenced.
" Hall No. 1" constitutes the portion known as the first
longitudinal division. Adjoining it at the left, is the first
transverse division, which is connected with the second
transverse division by the second longitudinal division,
marked "Hall No. 3." "Hall No. 5," and the wards beyond it, are collectively known as the extreme wing. The
transverse divisions are three, and all other portions of the
wing, two stories high.
The first transverse division, and all to the left of it, are
finished for use. The officers will temporarily occupy the
rooms N, K and 0, immediately over the word "MALE,"
The rooms N. and K in the basement beneath, will be used
as kitchens. This will afford accommodation for ninety
patients, and that number can be received as soon as the
rooms are furnished. The first longitudinal wing, containing apartments for fifty-four additional patients, can be
brought into use as soon as the center, and chapel and
kitchen building (U), are ready for occupancy.
RBPEBBNCBS.—A, public parlor ; B, general office; C,
matron's room; D, business office ; E E, reception rooms;
F, officer's dining room ; G, apothecary shop; H, anteroom and stairway; 111, store-rooms; K, associated dormitories ; L, attendants' rooms; M, day-rooms; N, workingrooms ; O, dining-rooms ; U, chapel, having beneath it the
general kitchen and store-rooms; 1, boiler room; 2, engine
room; 3, laundry; 4, drying-room; 5, iroaing-room; 6,
carpenter shop ; 7, covered passage-ways; 8, fan-room; 9,
smokestack.

28

Doe.

penditures and general operations of the hospital, as to
give to the community a proper degree of confidence in the
correctness of its management.
TV. The Physician should be the Superintendent and
chief executive officer ot the establishment. Besides being a well-educated physician, he should possess the mental, physical and social qualities to fit him for the post.
He should serve during good behavior, reside on or very
near the premises, and his compensation should be so liberal as to enable him to devote his whole time and energy to the Avelfare of the hospital. He should nominate
to the Board suitable persons to act as Assistant Physician,
Steward, and Matron. He should have entire control of
the medical, moral and dietetic treatment of the patients,
the unrestricted power of appointment and discharge of
all persons engaged in their care, and should exercise a
general supervision and direction of every department of
the Institution.
V. The Assistant Physician, or Assistant Physicians,
where more than one are required, should be graduates of
medicine, of such character and qualifications as to be able
to represent and to perform the ordinary duties of the
Physician during his absence.
VI. The Steward, under the direction of the Superintending Physician, and by his order, should make all purchases for the Institution, keep the accounts, make engagements with, pay and discharge those employed about the
establishment; have a supervision of the farm, garden,
and grounds, and perform such other duties as may be assigned to him.
VII. The Matron, under the direction of the Superintendent, should have a general supervision of the domestic
arrangements of the house, and, under the same direction,
do what she can to promote the comfort and restoration of
the patients.

No. 13.

29

VIII. In Institutions containing more than two hundred
patients, a second Assistant Physician and an Apothecary
should be employed; to the latter of whom, other duties,
In the male wards, may be conveniently assigned.
IX. If a Chaplain is deemed desirable as a permanent
officer, he should be selected by the Superintendent, and,
like all others engaged in the care of the patients, should
be entirely under his direction.
X. In every hospital for the insane, there should be one
supervisor for each sex, exercising a general oversight of
all the attendants and patients, and forming a medium of
communication between them and the officers.
XI. In no Institution should the number of persons in
immediate attendance on the patients be in a lower ratio
than one attendant for every ten patients; and a much,
larger proportion of attendants will commonly be desirable.
XII. The fullest authority should be given to the Superintendent to take every precaution that can guard
against fire or accident within an Institution, and to secure
this, an efficient night-watch should always be provided.
XIII. The situation and circumstances of different Institutions may require a considerable number of persons
to be employed in various other positions; but in every
hospital, at least all those that have been referred to, are
deemed not only desirable, but absolutely necessary, to
give all the advantages that may be hoped for from a liberal and enlightened treatment of the insane.
XIV. All persons employed in the care of the insane
should be active, vigilant, cheerful, and in good health.
They should be of a kind and benevolent disposition; be
educated, and in all respects trustworthy; and their compensation should be sufficiently liberal to secure the services of individuals of this description.



Paper booklet.

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