Old 20th Century Psychiatric Hospital With Dark Past To Be Turned Into A Place Of Education – The BayNet
ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Anne Arundel County and Bowie State University leaders are now one step closer to turning the infamous Crownsville State Hospital, a place with a traumatic past, into a place of education and healing.
The hospital, founded in 1911, was opened as The Hospital for the Negro Insane of Maryland before having its name changed in 1912. The hospital closed down in 2004.
This year, on May 22nd, Bowie State University President Dr. Amnita Breaux and Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman signed an official memorandum of understanding for programming at Crownsville Hospital Memorial Park.
As usual, for a psychiatric hospital in the late 20th century, it was overcrowded and understaffed. It housed 1,800 patients, despite being meant to house only 1,100, and had fewer than 10 doctors on duty.
Patients would be subject to brutal treatments and experiments, including lobotomies, pneumoencephalography, malaria treatment, and insulin shock therapy. Outbreaks of diseases such as smallpox, scarlet fever, and especially tuberculosis were common in the early years. Many patients were forced to do unpaid labor under the guise of “industrial therapy” on nearby farms until the 1960s.
One of its most noteworthy patients was Lucille Elsie Pleasant, the daughter of Henrietta Lacks, the individual who is the source of the HeLa cell line. She died at just 15 years old, likely due to the abuse she suffered in the hospital.
“One day, as everyone drives past, they’re going to know the history and say, ‘I want to be a part of the future and make this a brighter place to be’,” said Dr. Breaux.
Pittman is hoping to have the park’s draft plan ready before the beginning of Fall.
To learn more about Crownsville Hospital Memorial Park, click here.
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