Few People Know America Got Its First Mental Health Facility Right Here In Virginia In 1773
By Beth|Published January 05, 2022
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Beth
Author
A lifelong Virginia resident, Beth loves exploring different parts of the world and currently resides in Charlottesville. She holds a degree in English Literature and one of her short stories has been featured in the Shenandoah Review. Other interests include hiking, songwriting, and spending time in the mountains.
Virginia has been the first to do many things. One of the more impressive feats was opening the very first mental health facility in the U.S in 1773. Although the history of treating mental health has been complicated and oftentimes misguided, the dedication of care and resources shown by the Eastern State Hospital paved the way for better understanding and care in the future. Here’s more on the history of Eastern State Hospital in Williamsburg, Virginia.
To visit Williamsburg is to experience some of Virginia's most impressive buildings and historic sites. Among them is the Eastern State Hospital, the first mental health facility in the U.S. that was established roughly 250 years ago.
And while the goals of the facility were certainly noble, the practices at the time were unnecessary and, on some counts, truly harmful. Some of them included bleeding and electrocution.
Fortunately, the goal of the facility was to treat patients with dignity and respect. One of the supervisors, Dr. John M. Galt, firmly believed that patients could be reintegrated into society, a radical concept at the time.
Dr. Galt is also credited with using talk therapy and occupational therapy as alternative treatments.
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After the Civil War, the hospital saw a decline, especially as the facility aimed more to keep patients away from society and incorporated less science into treatments, effectively leaving the patients be.
In 1885, the original Eastern State Hospital building burned to the ground due to an electrical fire. In the following decades, the facility was rebuilt and restored. By 1968, all of the patients were moved to a new facility on the outskirts of Williamsburg.
Visit today, and you'll find that the original site of Eastern State Hospital is referred to only as "Public Hospital" on the map of Colonial Williamsburg. There's a small area where visitors can learn more about the history of the facility and the patients who lived there.
Did you know that the first mental health facility was established in Virginia? Let us know your thoughts in the comments! For more information about the history of Eastern State Hospital, you can visit the official website.
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