Welcome! I am thrilled to be interning with the Oregon State Hospital Museum in preparation for a new exhibit surrounding the Fairview Training Center, an institution for the mentally disabled which was open from 1907- 2000. It has been a personal interest of mine to educate the general public about Fairview, in which this future exhibit is the perfect start.



  More About My Relationship With Fairview:


The Fairview Training Center, has been a huge part of my life since I started conducting my own archival research on it last spring for a research- intensive class. I can still recall the exact moment I decided I wanted to focus my research on Fairview. My fellow classmates and I were at the Oregon State Archives receiving an introduction to archival research when we were lead to a table filled with archival documents, intended to be an example to some of the items you might find in the archives. I found myself drawn to a picture of people people sitting at either desks or some form of work station (I cannot remember exactly what the picture was of). I think the archivist giving us the tour noticed my attention was only focused on this one photo. She told us that this photo was part of the little collection they had from the Fairview Training Center, in which our professor further explained that Fairview was an institution for the mentally disabled here in Salem that was closed down around 2000. The fact that I, as well as the majority of my fellow classmates, did not know about this institution made me even more curious. Focusing on the 1930’s, through my research, I was able to interpret and begin to develop a sense for what life was like during this important time for both Fairview (then it was called the Oregon Fairview Home) and the progression of understanding mental disabilities.


 


One single picture, one single image, captured my curiosity and that curiosity continues to be fueled as I delve deeper into investigating Fairview. It is through this blog that I will share exciting and/ or interesting pieces of Fairview history in hopes that it will fuel your Fairview curiosity as well!


 


If you have any questions, comments or information that you would like to share, please contact me at intern@oshmuseum.org.


~T