1840: A Revolution in Treatment

1851: A Place for a Cure

1870: Long Term Care

1900: Emerging Treatments

1900-1960: Tuberculosis

1956: Spiritual Health

1900-1980: Carnivals & Amusements

1900-1960: Life on the Ward

1960-1980: Life on the Wards

1930-1950: New Treatments

1950 to the Present: Drug Therapy

1947: Occupational Therapy

1930-1966: Surgical Treatment

1988: Social Learning Program

1957: Youth Program

1980: Outpatient Treatment

The Hopeful Future

Amidst reports of rising juvenile delinquency the Fulton State Hospital decided in 1956 to accept emotionally disturbed youth. The children's ward opened the following year with a quota of twenty patients. By 1964, juvenile patients numbered over two hundred. In 1968, $3.8 million was appropriated for a six-building complex. Dedicated in 1971, the Hearnes Child & Youth Center provided the state's first such youth facility. Equipped with residential schools, gymnasium, recreational center, outpatient clinic, and special amenities, such as a television studio, the center advocated individualized programs designed for specific emotional, social, physical, and special educational needs.

Jane Rook, Director of Education Therapy, teaches a class of pre-adolescent boys at the Fulton State Hospital's Youth Center, c. 1959. Some images in this exhibition have been electronically altered to protect the identity of past and present hospital patients.

Fulton State Hospital