Missouri State Hospital No.3

The Missouri State Hospital No.3, built in 1885, was commissioned and built by the state of Missouri making it the third hospital for the mentally ill. Throughout the years the hospital was used to treat the mentally ill but eventually also became a place where many dropped off their old and sick when they no longer wanted to take care of them. The Nevada State Hospital has gone by many names throughout the years. “The third state hospital,” “Nevada state hospital,” “Nevada state hospital no.3,” and even the “lunatic asylum no.3”. The hospital was shut down in 1991 and the main building destroyed in 1998, however many of the buildings are still standing and in use today.

Chosen above its rivals Springfield and Carthage, Nevada was approved for the city where the new state hospital would be built. Approved by Governor John Sappington Marmaduke in 1885 The Missouri State Hospital for the Insane began to be built. Newspapers from all three cities were writing all about the rivalry between the three. Springfield was the first runner and everyone thought they would surely be awarded the spot for the hospital. Nevada, however, showed that its people and community could make anything happen. As a city they fundraised enough funds to donate to the state, so they would be awarded the special spot. This helped to put Nevada on the Map as an important part of Missouri history.

Construction on the Missouri State Hospital no.3 started in 1885 and was finished in 1887 with underground tunnels that connected some of the separate buildings to the main building. The building, when fully finished, stood as the longest building in the whole state at a whole mile long. During the first years of it's time the hospital had Superintendent R.E Young, two physicians, a Stenographer, and 25 other staff. They welcomed their first patient, Mary Carr, who was admitted October 17th, 1887.

Throughout the early years in the hospital, due to the untrained staff and practices that are frowned upon today, patients were left in their straight jackets and taken care of without exercise or seeing the outside world. This changed when, in 1908, the staff and superintendent decided to put patients who were physically able, to work. Patients who were given this opportunity were found to live longer, healthier, and more fulfilled lives. The hospital has a fully functional farm with cows, pigs, and chickens, among other animals, that the patients were able to work with. They would collect eggs, milk the cows, make butter, and take care of the other animals on the farm. Every week the hospital was able to go to the farmer's market to sell these items and made a good profit. Although this was the good part of the hospital, Many patients did end up dying and were buried on the grounds many of which are unidentified to this day.

The hospital was made to reflect a Kirkbride style of mental health. The Kirkbride style of mental health was named after its creator, Thomas Kirkbride, a physiatrist from Philadelphia. He believed that the mentally insane moral treatment, pretty architecture, and overall nice environment would help cure them of inanity. Because of his visions this hospital was built among many others across the country. This reflects in the pictures taken of the hospital before it was eventually torn down in 1998. The hospital was shut down in 1991 and the main building destroyed in 1998, however many of the buildings are still standing and in use today.

Along with the hospital there was an archway built that had a large eagle on top that spanned about 6 ft in length. This bird was knocked down many times throughout the years due to storms and was eventually taken down and gifted, locally, to the Nevada bushwhacker museum where it was shown in an exhibit for many years. Today, however, it is kept in the museum's archives and taken care of until it is ready to be displayed again.

“Nevada State Hospital Image Gallery: including photos, postcards, and building plans.” Asylum Projects.

http://www.asylumprojects.org/index.php?title=Nevada_State_Hospital_Image_Gallery

(accessed April 26, 2022)

McElroy, Ethan. “Nevada State Hospital.” Kirkbride Buildings.

http://www.kirkbridebuildings.com/buildings/nevada/

(accessed April 26, 2022)

"The Electric Pencil" http://www.electricpencildrawings.com/EPrevealed-english.html

(accessed April 26, 2022)

Irwin, Lyndon, compiler. “Insane Asylum No. 3: Photos and patient drawings”

http://www.lyndonirwin.com/asylum.htm

(accessed April 26, 2022 )