The gymnasium-theater is in the background. Lit by lightning outside the grounds during a huge thunderstorm. The new dining room is still set up for the Twelve Step meetings that took place here a few years ago. They were often placed high, like this one, to be out of patient reach. My father helped as much as he could but had day job managing our local creamery. Being a self-sufficient site was considered a very positive therapeutic part of the hospital for many of the patients who had come from farms. From the tiny hexagonal tiles lining the dusty isolation rooms to the curtains hanging from the ward ceilings, to say nothing of the dark and stuffy tunnels below…. Someday, I love to see the inside. Working there a short time was an interesting time in my life. As of 2014, the city is allowing artists to rent spaces inside. Once my uncle stopped laughing and cleared up the confusion, it was a matter of hours until my parents were smooching by the lake. It followed a moral management plan based upon the concepts of Dr. Thomas S. Kirkbride. This is one of the modern nurse’s stations where the last inpatients lived in the mid-2000s. There’s an old antenna of some kind there, as you can see. Original records for this hell hole were destroyed in the late 1980s by order if the state of Minnesota. Not a good time. After just a short time they got the horrible call that she had not responded to “ treatment” and had passed. In the ward for the criminally insane, this door was the most-worn. She is buried on the grounds. [p.243]. Note the ironwork on the chimney. My Grandmother, Esther Thornberg Swanson also attended nursing school at The State Hospital. The former Fergus Falls (Minn.) Regional Treatment Center was also known as the Kirkbride. Minnesota treasures: stories behind the state's historic places [pp.160-4]. One side looks out over farmland while the other faces the back of the hospital grounds. Hi, tried to email you but it got sent back. The laundry building, where many of the tunnels came to an end. Without the reminder of location, of an evolving “civilized” past, later generations forget that it’s not a long way back to chaos and violence. Participants are asked to park in the Government Services parking lot and meet at the hospital's far west side. Why wouldn’t they want to forget? On the top floor of one of the old wards, the slanted roofline makes the this group room more claustrophobic. I always felt this was an unusual choice but it was a day away from school. It’s a great spot for picture taking and an important part of the town’s history. I watch and wait, as do the memories lining the inside of every window in Fergus Falls State Hospital, where my great grandmother spent some years of her life while coping with depression. Bees are a symbol of regeneration, and as a beekeeper spotting them high up in the warmest part of the building, it was a perfect message of com/fort from my great great grandma. I have an ancestor who voluntarily entered the hospital in 1928 and only later in 1931 was he officially “committed” What was the implication of a commitment? In some places, signs still point to defunct areas of the hospital. My great grandfather lived here. Destroy all remnants of our past folly so we can ‘pretend’ we are now a better, more humane society… Bullpucky! In this section of the Men’s Ward, sealed by brick from lower floors, the room doors had messages painted in their inside–some motivational, some not. Reflections of red towers, white-arched wings and a thousand glittering windows traced their ghosts across the side of the car. A scribbled note on a doorframe… lost details. I am unsure why the suspended ceiling is missing. I would love to see your picture if you don’t mind me seeing. . I am a beautiful 20 year old with dreams and a heart. I am so sad that this place is facing the wrecking ball. My Grandfather worked there some time between 1911 and 1920. It was probably designed to help service the clock originally planned to be set in the tower, but when the hospital went over budget the state cancelled the timepiece. It served for many years as a state hospital for patients with mental illness, developmental disabilities or chemical dependency. Tear the place down, plant a bunch of trees and flowers and have the cemetery blessed. […] Falls, MN: Continental Divide Marker and fiberglass buffalo, Otto the Big Otter, Fergus Falls State Hospital (abandoned asylum), Big Library […]. Does anyone know what happened to the original records from this facility? Since interior tours are no longer allowed, this tour takes people around the exterior while interpreters relate stories and events that define the hospital’s history. Notice through the curved doorway that even the ceiling has a curvature. A light-painted portrait of one of the few remaining carts that moved everything from fresh eggs to soiled laundry through the tunnels. The cemetery for the old asylum is, sadly, largely unmarked. Living near Thief River Falls while growing up, any mention of Furgus Falls brought thoughts of the insane asylum. this is a really interesting topic to me, and personally i hope they don’t tear it down, just imagine spending part of your life somewhere you were sent too and they want to destroy it, for some it could be like a childhood home or memory, i hope they haven’ Trees by the beautiful Nurse’s Cottage above and behind the Kirkbride. You know, to dress up the fact that someone could be watching anonymously on the other side. It is big and there is a fence around it and they only let you outside a couple times a day to smoke. […] building. I think the building it beautiful, id love to live in the doctors apartment. And also preserve the building. A cloud moves across the attic in front of the window. When I was there visiting, they had everything from the criminally insane to the severely depressed there. ND Like a castle this was a place of power, but unlike its European cousins,this was a monument to, and an instrument of, a government for and by the people. Whether it was a terrible place or not, the Historic value of this place is priceless. Much to beautiful of a building to tear down!! Connecting the Administration building’s tower and top floors is this beautiful cast iron staircase. My aunt received a picture and a few written pages about Virginie(a) from the state, upon request. In 1880, a fire completely destroyed the asylum at St. Peter, Minnesota, killing 30 patients. Found in one of the rooms that hosted an inpatient chemical dependency unit in its later years. I grew up hearing my Grandfather’s stories from there. I grew up in Fergus and the structure has always been an icon — much to valuable to destroy. In 1910, laws were changed to allow patients to voluntarily admit themselves. Glowing observation windows–and someone forgot to lock a patient’s door…. Fergus Falls Tourism: Tripadvisor has 2,582 reviews of Fergus Falls Hotels, Attractions, and Restaurants making it your best Fergus Falls resource. Ghost shows make them all the more popular. The inside was always marked and worn more than the outside. The snowflake (?) Just took a tour of the State hospital, and loved it, it is so majestic and beautiful, I cant believe they would really tear that building down.

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