The Washington Territory began acquiring land for what would become Western State Hospital in 1868, although land acquisitions continued for many years until the final parcel was purchased in 1947. The military abandoned Fort Steilacoom on April 22, 1868, as the need for such an installation had waned with the end of the Civil War and regional conflicts with Native American tribes. From 1856-1859, several buildings were constructed that would become the core of the future Western State Hospital and the creation of a military road from Fort Steilacoom north to Fort Bellingham. It was created as a route across the Cascade Mountains through Naches Pass to access Fort Walla Walla. The fort underwent two development periods in 1849 through 18 through 1858.Īngle Lane SW is among the roads built during the military use of Fort Steilacoom. presence during the Puget Sound War of 1855–1856 and serving as a social center for the area’s early settlers and visitors passing through the region. It was an influential presence as headquarters in the construction of early road systems, as a supply depot and refuge, solidifying the U.S. government leased 20 acres of the land (for $50 a month for 20 years) from the Puget Sound Agricultural Company and created Fort Steilacoom in August 1849, where it remained an active U.S. He raised cattle, oxen, horses and sheep on the land and farmed potatoes, wheat, beef, mutton and wool. Heath built the Heath Farmstead and lived on the land until his death on March 7, 1849. Joseph Heath, who emigrated from England to Canada, arrived in 1844 and leased 640 acres from the Puget Sound Agricultural Company. Western State Hospital was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and Washington Heritage Register as the Fort Steilacoom Historic District on Nov. It was later replaced with psychotropic drugs, counseling, and behavior modification therapies, practices that remain in use today. A surgical procedure called the frontal lobotomy was used for a period of time.
Insulin therapy was started in the mid-1930s, followed by electric shock therapy. Wet packs, hot tubs and showers were used for nearly 50 years to create a calming effect for the patients.
Hydrotherapy was the early treatment of choice. The hospital was renamed again as Western State Hospital in 1915.Īs times changed for the new state of Washington, so did methods for treating the mentally ill admitted to Western State Hospital. In 1889, when Washington was granted statehood, the hospital was renamed Western Washington Hospital for the Insane. The hospital, then called the Insane Asylum of Washington Territory, opened in 1871 with 15 male and six female patients. The Washington territory purchased the fort with the intent of turning it into a hospital for people who suffered from mental illness. Western State Hospital is located on the site of historic Fort Steilacoom, which served as a military post from 1849 to 1868 until the federal government abandoned it.
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