Nearly 200 miles northwest of the Twin Cities, a forgotten part of Minnesota history — an abandoned hospital in Minnesota — rises from among the lakes of Otter Tail County. Opened just 32 years after Minnesota officially became a state, the Fergus Falls State Hospital is a beautiful building with a long history. Beyond its chipped paint and crumbling woodwork, the abandoned hospital stands as a reminder of the early days of Minnesota — and of medicine. But this institution wasn't the first of its kind.

In 1866, Minnesota established St. Peter State Hospital, the first hospital for the "insane."

It had a separate institution called the Asylum for the Dangerous Insane, which opened in 1907.

We love this old photo of Fergus Falls, Minnesota taken a year later in 1908, a place exciting enough to draw a visit by the 27th U.S. President William Howard Taft.

With the growing population, St. Peter became overcrowded, and other hospitals were added to fulfill the need.

As a result, the Fergus Falls State Hospital — originally called the Third Minnesota Hospital For The Insane — opened to patients in 1890.

Now an abandoned hospital in Minnesota, it was built to treat mentally ill patients in northern Minnesota. In addition to patients with mental illnesses, the hospital also housed those with developmental disabilities or chemical dependencies.

By today's standards, the hospital is quite beautiful, especially for an abandoned hospital in Minnesota.

But it was actually built to be as plain as possible, with little difference from one wing to the next.

The design was known as the Kirkbride Plan, a style of building championed by physician Thomas Story Kirkbride (July 31, 1809 – December 16, 1883).

The buildings were meant to be large and imposing, with patient wings set at right angles to the central administration building.

Kirkbride theorized that a strict, bare setting would provide needed discipline to the mentally ill.

Bryce Hospital opened in 1861 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama and was planned from the start to utilize the "moral architecture" concepts of Kirkbride and others in the field.

This is similar to the bare setting inside of Fergus Falls State Hospital.

The Kirkbride Plan often included large sections of land that were often tended to by patients. Fergus Falls State Hospital sits on 11 acres.

As the decades passed, the hospital population grew. In the early days, only males were sentenced to the hospital and women were first admitted in 1893.

Later, changes in Minnesota law enabled people to commit themselves, with most still involuntarily sentenced.

Many patients were poor, with few resources enabling them to get them through troubled times. Most stayed for life, and by 1970, more than 40,000 patients had received treatment.

The hospital's name changed to the Fergus Falls Regional Treatment Center in 1985, and the following year, the hospital was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Many patients were poor, with few resources enabling them to get them through troubled times, and as a result, most stayed for life.

After its last patients were moved to other facilities, Fergus Falls Regional Hospital closed in 2004, now an abandoned mental hospital in Minnesota.

The building still stands, though there has been debate over whether to tear it down or redevelop the iconic structure. For now, it remains a fascinating time capsule of over a century of medicine.

Now known as the Minnesota Security Hospital, the St. Peter State Hospital carries on.

It is the only secure facility in Minnesota to provide assessment and treatment of individuals with severe mental health disorders, also considered dangerous.

For more information about this abandoned hospital in Minnesota, visit the National Park Service website. And for those who have already visited Fergus Falls State Hospital, please share your experiences in the comments below.  Also, check out the haunted tunnel at Anoka State Hospital. And while you're there, stay awhile and book a Vrbo in this cool, historic town.