Iowa Asylum for Feebleminded Childern

            The story of the Iowa Asylum for Feebleminded Children is one of both success and failure.  Throughout the over 130 years of continuous operation the facility has seen thousands of clients pass through its doors suffering from a wide range of physical and emotional ailments.  Some unfortunate individuals spent nearly their entire lives on the campus of the Asylum, many of whom had no business being there by any sort of modern standard.  Despite continued allegations of physical and sexual abuse to the present day,1 the facility, located in Glenwood, Iowa, has managed to provide several residents with the basic life skills that many take for granted and have empowered these persons to live meaningful and productive lives. 

            The Iowa Asylum began as the Glenwood branch of the Iowa Soldiers Orphans Home.  The Orphans home was created by an act of the Iowa General Legislative Assembly on February 14, 1864, to provide care and shelter for the large number of orphan children in the state of Iowa whose fathers had died in the American Civil War.  On July 4, 1866, at a meeting in Council Bluffs, Iowa, the city of Glenwood was selected as the location for expansion to complement existing facilities in Davenport and Cedar Rapids.  The county of Mills, where Glenwood is located, donated fifteen acres of land southeast of the town square and broke ground on the original orphanage.  Within a few years the Glenwood branch was consolidated with another facility and its doors were closed in 1874; afterwards the building allowed to fall into a state of decay until put to new use in 1876.2  

            In 1876 the 16th General Assembly of the State of Iowa voted in support of a bill drawn by John Y. Stone of Glenwood to provide “organization and support of feebleminded children at Glenwood in Mills County, whereby these unfortunate persons were to receive care, support, training and instruction,” the bill was endorsed by C.C. Horton of Muscatine.3

            The new facility at Glenwood was the first of its kind in the State of Iowa and its completion would make Iowa the seventh state in the union to have such an institution.  Since Iowa previously had no such facilities those seeking help would have to petition other asylums in neighboring areas such as Jacksonville, Illinois, for admittance as a letter from June 10, 1874, demonstrates (letter photo in pictures).  For these reasons and more, on April 26, 1876, in Glenwood, the first three trustees of the Asylum; J.W. Cattell of Polk County, A.J. Russell of Mills, and W.S. Robertson of Muscatine met and decided to model the new facility on one in Jacksonville, Illinois.  Charles T. Wilbur, from Jacksonville, was brought in as a consultant to assist the trustees.  The land and buildings of the Iowa Orphans Home were chosen as the location of this new facility.  The trustees had much work ahead of them however because the building, that would later become the first administration building, was said to be so bad that “windows were broken, doors off hinges, stench of filth and decayed vegetables, cisterns broken, drains obscured.  Every conceivable variety of filth and garbage.”4  These problems would be overcome and the Iowa Asylum for Feebleminded Children was officially opened on September 1, 1876, with the first child admitted on September 4, 1876.  Dr. O.W. Archibald, from the Iowa Hospital for the Insane at Mount Pleasant, Iowa, was selected as the first Superintendent.  In its first year of operation eighty-seven patients were admitted.

            In its earliest days conditions were raw and all food was prepared on wood fired stoves.  Laundry and ironing were done by hand with kerosene heaters providing warmth; water was drawn by hand from wells and cisterns.  The bulk of Dr. Archibald's tenure was spent hiring staff and attempting to prepare the facility for the challenges it would face as it continued to grow and expand.5  In October of 1879 the Trustees were divided on continuing the experiment that was the Glenwood Asylum and wished to move the facility to Mitchellville, Iowa, citing the lack of water, buildings, and land.  The decision was made to maintain the Asylum in its present location after William Hale of Mills County championed the cause of Glenwood.6  On May 24, 1882, Dr. Archibald would step down as Superintendent and Dr. F.M. Powell was immediately appointed by the Board of Trustees as his replacement. 

            During the Powell administration improvements continued with the construction of male and female cottages, a water tower, small hospital, a central main building, and a bake shop providing all the bread for clients and employees alike.  Other buildings erected during Powell's tenure were a structure for ice and cold storage, a fire building, a farm cottage for older boys, and a new boiler room. The asylum acquired new land as well.7  The boiler burned coal and a rail spur was installed to allow coal trains to drop off the massive amounts of coal required to fuel the facility.  The ashes were used by the staff to fill holes or to cover roads on the campus.  It is said that anywhere one digs on the campus you will find ash.8  A major success achieved under Powell was the creation of a band with eighteen original members, the band was a favorite pastime of many residents and would be continued for years.  In June of 1897 Dr. Powell received a letter from Mayor Howard Hitchcock of Hillsdale, Iowa, approximately six and a half miles southeast of Glenwood, saying that three men believed to have been escaped from the Asylum were in his custody and were telling a “very smooth story.”  Eventually the three were returned to Glenwood by horse-drawn wagon and Mayor Hitchcock was paid a bounty a five dollars for each runaway.9 On July 1, 1889, enrollment grew to 815 after the age restrictions for admittance was lifted by the newly created Board of Control the now had oversight of the Asylum.  The Board of Control also instituted a two-year -nine-month course for attendants, the term for the, essentially, unqualified nurses at Glenwood.  Upon completion of a written examination the Board of Control would issue a diploma, all training was done on-site.   On July 1, 1903, Dr. Powell resigned.10

            Dr. George Morgridge, an Englishman who traveled to Glenwood seeking employment at the Asylum, became a personal assistant to Dr. Powell after being encouraged by him to attend the University of Nebraska Medical College in Omaha, Nebraska.  Upon the resignation of Dr. Powell, Morgridge was appointed Superintendent.  The population would expand from 980 in 1903 to 1,695 in 1935 because of this farm land on the campus increased with the garden and orchard being massively expanded.11  The orchard grew apples, pears, peaches, apricots, cherries, four types of plums, two acres of grapes, strawberries, raspberries, gooseberries, dewberries, and currants.  The greenhouse is reported to have had a banana tree that bore only one stalk of fruit in its lifetime.12  Many of the apples were contracted out to a company based in Chicago.   Popcorn grown on site was contracted to a business in Hamburg, Iowa.13  Dairy and pig herds were introduced, along with new barns and silos to help feed the ever-growing population.  A custodial building for boys was erected alongside two new cottages and a new power plant and laundry.14  The laundry is reported to have cleaned 135,000 pounds of laundry per month at its height with an additional 5,000 pounds of soiled laundry being shipped in from the Iowa School for the Deaf in nearby Council Bluffs, Iowa.15  A massive tunnel system was created connecting the power plant with the other buildings.  Railroad access to the provide the power plant with coal was also installed.  For the first time under Dr. Morgridge, a dentist and psychologist were employed on campus.16  Beyond these improvements a building for Tuberculosis patients was constructed, with a morgue located in the basement.17

            On July 1, 1935 the board of control appointed Dr. Harold B. Dye as the Asylum's fourth Superintendent.  An Iowa native and graduate of the University of Nebraska Medical College Dr. Dye created the canteen system where candy, ice cream, tobacco, and various other items could be purchased.18  The residents would be payed in store credit at the canteen for the labor provided during their stay.19

            The fifth Superintendent was Dr. Thomas Lacey, a native of Council Bluffs, Iowa, on July 1, 1939.  After having previously attended Cornell University in Ithaca, New York he graduated from the Creighton University College of Medicine.  Dr. Lacey would serve thirty-three years at Glenwood in total, the last five as Superintendent.

            After the death of Dr. Lacey a physician from Mondamin, Iowa, Dr. V. J. Meyer was appointed Superintendent.  During his twelve years in control of the Glenwood facility a cannery was erected to preserve the on-site grown food year round.20  The cannery could produce six fifty-gallon barrels of dill pickles, three barrels of sweet pickles, and five barrels of sauerkraut, alongside 24,000 #10 cans of other items grown on campus per year.  The garden had now grown to eighty-five acres in total alongside a sixty-four-acre orchard.  Four caves stored the vegetables through the winter months and would be stocked with apples, potatoes, yams, carrots, parsnips, onions, beets, squash and many other root vegetables.21  Beyond food all of the women’s clothing was also made on site from a type of heavy unbleached muslin, including bras, undergarments, dresses, diapers, sheets, pillow cases, and curtains. Everything was made from the same material.  All clothing and fabric was made to the same specifications and no individuality or personal expression was allowed.  Women were issued four outfits a year; three everyday dresses and one Sunday outfit.22  The male residents wore prison made overalls and denim jeans, just like the female residents no individual distinctions were made.23

             A forty-hour work week for employees was introduced during the Meyer administration.  Employees were compelled to live on site, in the building in which they worked, as a condition of employment. Prior to this the employees at the Asylum would often work from 5:30am to 8pm seven days a week, one Sunday off a month would be allowed.  An occasional night pass would be issued by the Superintendent under the condition they return to the Asylum by 10pm or risk being locked out for the night by the watchman.24

            The story of the employees themselves is rather interesting.  While it is certainly understandable that those not on official business should be kept off the property, those that worked, and consequently lived at the Asylum, were also isolated from the general town population by the administration as well.  The staff itself was segregated, as if by caste, often married couples would not be allowed to dine together.  So called blue-collar men, for example, were not to associate with the teachers and administrative professionals.  Later on, married couples were allowed to live in the remodeled half of a building that had suffered from fire damage and structural collapse.  A few lucky couples were allowed to live above the fire station.25

            In May of 1957, Alfred Sasser, Jr., assumed control at Glenwood.  Despite a controversy about falsification on his application regarding  a Doctorate degree, many positive changes came about during his tenure, such as a program to reevaluate each resident and create personalized programs suited to the needs of each individual.  Alfred Sasser would give over 300 talks during his lifetime across the state of Iowa, working as an advocate for the mentally disabled.26

            One revelation that was brought to light because of the reevaluation program of Alfred Sasser was the discovery that resident Mayo Buckner had a genius level IQ of 120 and played eight musical instruments with extreme skill. Mayo Buckner even instructed the band teacher on use of the clarinet.  The musical talent of Mayo Buckner was so great that he was once invited to play in a concert at the Glenwood Town Square with the local band.  When a power failure occurred, all other members of the band stopped playing with the exception of Buckner. He had committed the piece to memory.  Buckner was employed in the print shop at Glenwood and was paid $1 a month for his services.  Once during his employment, the word acknowledge needed to be hyphenated to fit on the press, Buckner set the type as ac-knowledge while the overseer demanded it be set as ack-nowledge.  Buckner felt this was incorrect and insisted a dictionary be consulted; he felt satisfaction to his dying day at being right.  Buckner was admitted to Glenwood in 1898 and lived at there until he died in 1965.  Mayo Hazeltine Buckner was diagnosed upon admission by an employee, with no training, and rated as a medium grade imbecile.  The cause of his imbecility listed as a prenatal influence of seeing the traveling musician Blind Boone and mimicking the way that he rolled his eyes.  A street on the campus has been named in Mayo Buckner's memory.  He is buried in his hometown of Lenox, Iowa, alongside his family.27

            After the controversy of the Sasser administration, Dr. Peter A. Peffer was appointed the eighth Superintendent on September 1, 1959, transferring from the V.A. hospital in Brockton, Massachusetts, were he served for thirty years as a manager.  During his two-year tenure, a sterilization policy was implemented in accordance with state law. A memorandum system to better communicate policies to the staff was also implemented.  The motion picture selection committee for the first time allowed clients to assist with the selection of films for viewing.  A volunteer program was implemented at the Asylum, now called the Glenwood State School by an act of the 61st General Assembly of Iowa, to allow outsiders on to the campus for the first time.28  The administration set up a germ and odor control program because the dormitories chronically smelt of urine and feces.  They also introduced a tiered system of pay increase for employees.

            The tenth Superintendent, Mr. Leonard Lavis of Wisconsin, set up a six-month training program in five areas to help provide job skills to the residents while assisting the staff with their duties. These included nursing aide helper, service station attendant, laundry helper, janitor services, and dietary helper. A blind female resident operated the switchboard during the night shift. She was able to do this through her ability to read braille.29  A great triumph of the Lavis administration was the Foster Grandparent Program, which allowed low-income adults over the age of sixty-five to act as a role model and mentor to clients.  In 1986 the foster grandparent program payed $2.20 an hour for twenty hours a week of mentoring.  Between 1967 and 1986 1,339,200 hours of service was provided by elderly members of the community to the residents at Glenwood.30  Another wildly successful program at Glenwood was one emphasizing personal care and grooming.  Ladies fifteen and above were allowed to attend classes once a week under the direction of Mrs. Lucile Anderson.  These classrooms had four hair dryer chairs, four styling booths, four manicure tables, and one shampoo bowl.  The weekly class was greatly looked forward to by the female residents at Glenwood where basic beauty and hygiene was encouraged and taught in a type of salon setting.  Another popular program was the monthly birthday parties.31  If a resident’s birthday fell within that month a formal dinner was prepared for them complete with flowers, white tablecloth, and cake.  This program was discontinued when the central kitchen took over in 1964.32

            Under Lavis for the first time the locked doors on the wards were removed and previous systems of corporal punishment were suspended.  Prior to this it was not uncommon for beatings or severe forms of restraint to be employed.  Other common punishments used by the staff were hard labor at the rubber, a heavy device used to polish the floors with burlap or confinement to one the infamous side-rooms.33  The side-rooms were bare 9’x12’ rooms with only a small window and a bucket to be used as a toilet with a light bulb that burned twenty-four hours a day as furnishings.  It was not uncommon for those on punishment to be confined three at a time in these rooms, for several days while being forced to endure a diet of bread and water.34

           On July 1, 1968, the 62th General Assembly of Iowa created the Department of Social Services to replace the Board of Control as the general oversight of the Glenwood State School.  The same year a camping area, called Camp Peter Pan, was built with the labor of the “work-shop boys” that worked on campus doing carpentry work.35

            On March 13, 1969 William E. Campbell was appointed the eleventh Superintendent.  For the first time carpeting was installed in the living quarters and the residents were allowed personal lamps in their living areas along with dressers and footlockers to provide a more normal living experience for the clients.  Early in 1970 residents were no longer grouped by sex or handicap but on functional level.36

            Moving forward to the present day, the problems facing the Glenwood State Hospital School would unfortunately continue.  In 1999 and again in 2001 the United States Department of Justice investigated reports of abuse and neglect at facilities in Glenwood and Woodward, Iowa.  The results of the investigation, as they relate to the Glenwood facility, are that there had been at least two recent instances of alleged sexual abuse and other instances of employees being found in “questionable circumstances” with residents.  The use of restraints had decreased in recent years, but the duration of time in restraints was longer and deemed inappropriate.  The amount of instances where residents had been admitted to emergency rooms was alarmingly high and more investigation to the root cause was deemed necessary by the State of Iowa Department of Social Services.  Overall the Glenwood medical team was deemed to be dedicated and competent but ultimately short staffed to deal with the complex neurological issues faced by many of the residents.  The use of psychotropic medication prescribed to the residents was deemed excessive and unwarranted.  Major gaps in the record keeping at Glenwood, or a complete lack of records at all, was also determined to be a major problem with Glenwood State Hospital School.

            All of the findings of the Department of Justice report were not bad however.  Glenwood was commended on having an excellent nutrition program and an incredibly modern hydrotherapy facility, the entire physical rehabilitation program at Glenwood was highly respected in the report.  Glenwood employed a full time medical and dental staff, compared to the at-need medical team of the Woodward facility.  Glenwood was commended on its frequent screening of residents to personalize the level of care received.  The overall success rate of rehabilitation and reintegration into society of the Glenwood facility was much higher than Woodward.  During the course of the investigation, both the facilities at Woodward and Glenwood formally changed their names from State Hospital School to Resource Center.  The report states that as of 2001 the Glenwood Resource Center had 386 residents.37

            Problems still plague the Glenwood Resource Center up to this very day.  As of 2017, Superintendent Gary Anders resigned after continued allegations of both sexual and physical abuse by staff under his administration.  In January 2017 thirteen employees were terminated or resigned after allegations of various types of maltreatment to residents at Glenwood.  As of April 2017 no convictions have been made and the investigation is ongoing.38

            The legacy of the Iowa Asylum for Feebleminded is ultimately one of both success and failure.  The unfortunate reality is that care and treatment for the wide range of disabilities, both physical and mental, that are suffered by those who live there have no easy solutions.  The simple fact that those suffering from mental handicaps have in many ways the intelligence and innocence of a child make them easy prey for those who would indulge the darker sides of human nature.  The motivation for profit and potential for exploitation has also driven the policies of the Asylum throughout its history.  One can only hope that things continue to get better for those that spend their life on the Glenwood campus as they slowly have over the last fifty years.  It is easy to focus on the bad but much good has come from Glenwood as well.  The average person is simply not equipped to deal with the demands of caring for someone with physical or mental handicaps.  The job skill training and sense of worth and purpose it can instill is priceless to those that, for one reason or another, find themselves in Glenwood.  The Glenwood Resource Center is no longer the massive city unto itself with a population of over 2000 as it was at its height39, as of 2017 the resident population was listed at 23040, but each of these individuals have worth and deserve the chance to fulfill their potential to lead meaningful, productive, and happy lives.  

Footnotes:

1        Leys, Tony, “Leader retires at troubled state institution for people with intellectual disabilities”, www.desmoinesregister.com. February 14, 2017, Accessed April 23, 2017, http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/health/2017/02/14/glenwood-state-resource-center-superintendent-retires/97911496/

2         Des Moines State Historical Company, “History of Mills County, Iowa, containing a history of the county, its cities, towns, etc., a biographical directory of many of its leading citizens, war record of its volunteers in the late rebellion, general and local statistics, history of Iowa and the Northwest, map of Mills County, constitution of the state of Iowa, reminiscences, miscellaneous matters, ect.”, (Des Moines, Iowa), Des Moines State Historical Company, 1881, Page 565.

3        Mills County Genealogical Society, “History of the Glenwood State Hospital-School,” (Glenwood, Iowa), Mills County Genealogical Society, 1986, Page 1.

4        “History of Mills County Iowa”, 1881, Page 569.

5        “History of Glenwood State Hospital-School”, 1986, Page 2.

6        “Glenwood Opinion Tribune”, (Glenwood, Iowa), December 18, 1919.

7        “History of Glenwood State Hospital-School”, 1986, Page 2.

8        Lee, Robert, “Glenwood Opinion Tribune”, (Glenwood, Iowa), May 28, 1986.

9        Brown, Jesse, “Glenwood Opinion Tribune”, (Glenwood, Iowa), March 5, 1986.

10    “History of the Glenwood State Hospital-School”, 1986, Page 3.

11    “History of the Glenwood State Hospital-School”, 1986, Page 3-4.

12    Pakos, Joe, “Glenwood Opinion Tribune”, (Glenwood, Iowa), April 16, 1986.

13    Brown, Jesse, “Glenwood Opinion Tribune”, (Glenwood, Iowa), March 5, 1986

14    “History of the Glenwood State Hospital-School”, 1986, Page 5.

15    Madison, Dorothy, “Glenwood Opinion Tribune”, (Glenwood, Iowa), March 26, 1986.

16    “History of the Glenwood State Hospital-School”, 1986, Page 7.

17    Merritt, Carrie, “Glenwood Opinion Tribune”, (Glenwood, Iowa), April 9, 1986.

18    “History of the Glenwood State Hospital-School”, 1986, Page 7.

19    Merritt, Carrie, “Glenwood Opinion Tribune”, (Glenwood, Iowa), April 9, 1986.

20    “History of the Glenwood State Hospital-School”, 1986, Page 8.

21    Pakos, Joe, “Glenwood Opinion Tribune”, (Glenwood, Iowa), April 16, 1986.

22    Ranne, Louise, “Glenwood Opinion Tribune”, (Glenwood, Iowa), March 12, 1986.

23    Lee, Robert, “Glenwood Opinion Tribune”, (Glenwood, Iowa), May 28, 1986.

24    Fenwick, Helen, “Glenwood Opinion Tribune”, (Glenwood, Iowa), February 19, 1986.

25    Merritt, Carrie, “Glenwood Opinion Tribune”, (Glenwood, Iowa), April 9, 1986.

26    “History of the Glenwood State Hospital-School”, 1986, Page 8.

27    Wallace, Robert. "A lifetime thrown away by a mistake 59 years ago." Life Magazine. Life Magazine, March 24, 1958, 120-135. 

28    “History of the Glenwood State Hospital-School”, 1986, Page 9.

29    Taenzler, Barbara, “Glenwood Opinion Tribune”, (Glenwood, Iowa), January 22, 1986.

30    Mayberry, Jean, “Glenwood Opinion Tribune”, (Glenwood, Iowa), February 6, 1986.

31    Tack, Helen, “Glenwood Opinion Tribune”, (Glenwood, Iowa), February 12, 1986.

32    Fenwick, Helen, “Glenwood Opinion Tribune”, (Glenwood, Iowa), February 19, 1986.

33    Lee, Robert, “Glenwood Opinion Tribune”, (Glenwood, Iowa), May 28, 1986.

34    Wallace, Robert. "A lifetime thrown away by a mistake 59 years ago." Life Magazine. Life Magazine, March 24, 1958, 126. 

35    Pakos, Joe, “Glenwood Opinion Tribune”, (Glenwood, Iowa), April 16, 1986.

36    “History of the Glenwood State Hospital-School”, 1986, Page 10.

37    Boyd Jr., Ralph F, “Investigation of Woodward State Resource Center and Glenwood State Resource Center (Iowa)”, www.justice.gov, June 09, 2002, Accessed April 23, 2017, https://www.justice.gov/crt/investigation-woodward-state-resource-center-and-glenwood-state-resource-center-iowa.

38    Leys, Tony, “Leader retires at troubled state institution for people with intellectual disabilities”, www.desmoinesregister.com, February 14, 2017, Accessed April 23, 2017, http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/health/2017/02/14/glenwood-state-resource-center-superintendent-retires/97911496.

39    Ranne, Louise, “Glenwood Opinion Tribune”, (Glenwood, Iowa), March 12, 1986.

40    Leys, Tony, “Leader retires at troubled state institution for people with intellectual disabilities”, www.desmoinesregister.com, February 14, 2017, Accessed April 23, 2017, http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/health/2017/02/14/glenwood-state-resource-center-superintendent-retires/97911496.

Boyd Jr., Ralph F, “Investigation of Woodward State Resource Center and Glenwood State Resource Center (Iowa)”, www.justice.gov, June 09, 2002, Accessed April 23, 2017, https://www.justice.gov/crt/investigation-woodward-state-resource-center-and-glenwood-state-resource-center-iowa.

Brown, Jesse, “Glenwood Opinion Tribune”, (Glenwood, Iowa), March 5, 1986.

Des Moines State Historical Company, “History of Mills County, Iowa, containing a history of the county, its cities, towns, etc., a biographical directory of many of its leading citizens, war record of its volunteers in the late rebellion, general and local statistics, history of Iowa and the Northwest, map of Mills County, constitution of the state of Iowa, reminiscences, miscellaneous matters, ect.”, (Des Moines, Iowa), Des Moines State Historical Company, 1881. 

Fenwick, Helen, “Glenwood Opinion Tribune”, (Glenwood, Iowa), February 19, 1986.

“Glenwood Opinion Tribune”, (Glenwood, Iowa), December 18, 1919.

Lee, Robert, “Glenwood Opinion Tribune”, (Glenwood, Iowa), May 28, 1986.

Leys, Tony, “Leader retires at troubled state institution for people with intellectual disabilities”, www.desmoinesregister.com. February 14, 2017, Accessed April 23, 2017, http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/health/2017/02/14/glenwood-state-resource-center-superintendent-retires/97911496/.

Madison, Dorothy, “Glenwood Opinion Tribune”, (Glenwood, Iowa), March 26, 1986.

Mayberry, Jean, “Glenwood Opinion Tribune”, (Glenwood, Iowa), February 6, 1986.

Merritt, Carrie, “Glenwood Opinion Tribune”, (Glenwood, Iowa), April 9, 1986.

Mills County Genealogical Society, “History of the Glenwood State Hospital-School,” (Glenwood, Iowa), Mills County Genealogical Society, 1986. 

Pakos, Joe, “Glenwood Opinion Tribune”, (Glenwood, Iowa), April 16, 1986.

Ranne, Louise, “Glenwood Opinion Tribune”, (Glenwood, Iowa), March 12, 1986.

Tack, Helen, “Glenwood Opinion Tribune”, (Glenwood, Iowa), February 12, 1986.

Taenzler, Barbara, “Glenwood Opinion Tribune”, (Glenwood, Iowa), January 22, 1986.

Wallace, Robert. "A lifetime thrown away by a mistake 59 years ago." Life Magazine. Life Magazine, March 24, 1958, 120-135.