Flush with Thanksgiving
I had the opporunity to tour the new Harbors Facility at OSH last week. For someone who spends a lot of time dwelling in OSH's past, touring the new, clean and spacious facility was an [...]
In Memoriam: Robert W.B. Riggle
Veterans Day is tomorrow. On the day that we remember the sacrifices made by members of our armed forces, here is the story of one veteran who is a reminder that not all causalities of war [...]
Public Tours of the New Oregon State Hospital Scheduled
Come tour part of the new construction at the Oregon State Hospital at a public open house Thursday, November 18, 2010 from 2 pm - 7:30 pm. Tours will be offered of the [...]
1917 View of the OSH Campus
Hand drawn schematic of the Oregon State Hospital Campus found in a Daybook with information dating October 31,1917-November 6, 1918 with transcription below. The drawing illustrates the “J-Building” and other out buildings. (T2009.002.409)
Exodus of the Insane/Safe Arrival In Salem, 1883
The following two accounts of the transfer of patients from the Oregon Hopsital for the Insane in East Portland to the newly built Oregon State Insane Asylum (OSIA) in Salem appeared in the Oregonian October [...]
Oregon Hospital for the Insane, Portland 1861-1883
The first institution in Oregon devoted to the care of the mentally ill was the Oregon Hospital for the Insane. Drs. James C. Hawthorne and A.M. Loryea opened the private hospital in September of 1861 [...]
By the Numbers: Oregon State Insane Asylum — Year One
Within the first year of operation of the Oregon State Insane Asylum (October 1883-October 1884): 541 Patients were admitted (396 men/145 women) 127 Patients were discharged 42 Patients died 17 Patients escaped (only 12 returned) [...]
Now that’s Entertainment
In the cataloguing process last week we came across an interesting little leather-bound book with an ink scrawled title: “OSIA Invitations to Dances and Entertainments.” Inside the book are guest lists for dances held at the Oregon State [...]
How to get to Portland, 1877
For many years before the opening of the Oregon State Insane Asylum in Salem in 1883, Oregon contracted with a private hospital (the Oregon Hospital for the Insane) in Portland. Patients from all over the [...]
Connecting Stories to Community
The staging of a dramatic interpretation of Ken Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest at the Pentacle Theatre puts the Oregon State Hospital in a new spotlight...literally. Read more about the play and the [...]