Timeline of Notable Events at the Kalamazoo State Hospital

This is a glass enclosed case and features a flat image of an historical timeline of events relating to the Kalamazoo State Hospital.  Located around the timeline image are historical black and white images of the hospital buildings and grounds and feature the tall brick water tower that is located in the center of the hospital grounds on Oakland Avenue in Kalamazoo.  There is an artists 3 dimensional depiction of the tower on the right wall and on the bottom of the case are accolades given to Dr. William Decker when he won the State of Michigan notable book award.  

1848 Public Act 187 was passed by the Michigan Legislature, providing for the establishment of an asylum for “insane” people, to be named the Michigan Asylum for the Insane.

1849 The Board of Trustees for the newly formed asylum held their first meeting in Detroit on May 22 and chose Kalamazoo as the site for the Michigan Asylum for the Insane.

1854 John P. Gray, M.D., was selected as the first medical superintendent; he resigned in 1856.

1858 Oliver Shaw composed Kalamazoo Polka Brillante for the piano forte and “cordially inscribed it to his valued friend Dr. E.H. Van Deusen Superintendent at the Michigan State Institution for the Insane.”

1859 The first patient was admitted to the hospital on April 23.

1860 The average total cost of an inpatient stay was $0.35/day or $2.50/week.

1878 Edwin Van Deusen, M.D., resigned as the medical superintendent after serving 22 years in the position.

1879 The first woman doctor, Dr. Helen W. Bissell, was hired at the asylum. She resigned in July of 1886 for health reasons.

1886 Female attendant nurses were introduced into the hospital unit of the Male Department.

1888 Dr. Palmer established the Colony System, the first of its kind in America.

1892 A nurses training school was organized.

1894 Electricity was installed throughout the asylum buildings and grounds.

1907 Alfred Ira Noble, M.D., medical superintendent, recommended that toilet paper be issued to the patients. There was no indication as to what was used prior to this.

1910 The Occupational Therapy Department was established and became an important part of treatment for patients.

1911 The name of the Michigan Asylum for the Insane was changed to the Kalamazoo State Hospital.

1914 Permission was granted for the purchase of two bicycles to police the grounds.

1916 At the board meeting held June 6, the board authorized the medical superintendent to organize a baseball club and construct two tennis courts. A baseball diamond was located on the east side of Oakland Drive directly across from the Male Department.

1917 On May 1, Dr. Roy A. Morter announced his desire to get married during the upcoming summer and sought permission to bring his wife to the institution to live with him.

1922 The School of Occupational Therapy began, with Marian Spears as its first director.

1937 The Water Tower roof was damaged by a lightening strike and repaired at a cost of $135 for the replacement of roof boards and damaged slate.

1942 The Kalamazoo State Hospital was approved by the American Medical Association to train physicians in psychiatry.

1948 All employees were placed on a 40-hour work week.

1949 The hospital tailor retired, and it was decided to no longer make men’s clothing at the hospital.

1952 The designation of “feeblemindedness” was changed to “mentally handicapped.”

1953 Dr. William A. Decker began his employment with the Kalamazoo State Hospital and eventually served as medical superintendent from 1974 until 1987.

1959 100th Anniversary Celebration was held on the grounds of the hospital on September 30.

1965 Interfaith Chapel was dedicated on September 12. Still in use today, the chapel seats 350 and is available to persons of all religious faiths.

1970 The census of the Kalamazoo State Hospital listed 1,668 patients in residence.

1978 The name of the Kalamazoo State Hospital was changed to Kalamazoo Regional Psychiatric Hospital.

1984 The average total cost of an inpatient stay was $101.48/day.

1995 The name of Kalamazoo Regional Psychiatric Hospital was changed to Kalamazoo Psychiatric Hospital. Local residents still commonly refer to it as “the State Hospital.”

2007 Dr. William A. Decker, M.D., published the book Asylum for the Insane: A History of the Kalamazoo State Hospital.

2009 Dr. Decker’s book was awarded a Michigan Notable Book award for providing an “outstanding history, complete with dozens of images and schematic maps.”

2019 Wanda Boekhout was interviewed about growing up on the Colony Farm. She lived at Pratt Cottage from birth into her teen years. Her parents were both employed by the hospital as site caretakers.

2022 The School of Occupational Therapy celebrated its 100-year anniversary. The school is now part of Western Michigan University’s College of Health and Human Services.

2024 The Kalamazoo Psychiatric Hospital celebrates 165 years of psychiatric care in the state of Michigan. The Kalamazoo Valley Museum marks this momentous occasion with a yearlong exhibit about the history of the hospital.