Welcome to the Kalamazoo State Hospital: 165 Years of Psychiatric Care exhibit at the Kalamazoo Valley Museum

Welcome to the Kalamazoo State Hospital: 165 Years of Psychiatric Care exhibit at the Kalamazoo Valley Museum

This welcome signs features a photograph of the Kalamazoo State Hospital water tower and name of the exhibit, Kalamazoo State Hospital: 165 Years of Psychiatric Care.

Starting in 1848, the legislature of the state of Michigan saw the need for addressing the mental health of its people and began taking steps towards creating the first mental hospital overseen by the state. 165 years later, the Kalamazoo Psychiatric Hospital still operates on the original location where the first hospital opened in 1859.

Throughout the history of the Kalamazoo State Hospital, several innovative programs began, such as a training school for nurses specializing in psychiatric care and an occupational therapy program in partnership with Western Michigan University. The hospital also utilized several hundred acres of surrounding farmland for diversified farming such as cattle for milking, fruit orchards and vegetable gardens. This was accomplished by the implementation of the colony farm system, which established a “colony” made up of numerous cottages having a capacity not to exceed 30 patients. The resulting Colony Farm was believed to have a curative effect on patients by keeping their bodies and minds active towards a common goal.

Learn about the history of the patients, employees, and buildings on the campus of Michigan’s longest-operating mental hospital.