Kalamazoo State Hospital |
Asylum Lake History Kalamazoo County, MI |
The 1887-88 Trustees Report of the Michigan Asylum for the Insane indicates that the Kalamazoo State Hospital purchased the land in the fall of 1887 as part of a "colony" farm and recreation equipment. The colony farm purchase price is listed as $37,765.77 in the 1887 Treasurer's Report. The name probably changed with the property acquisition, since the 1890 county atlas shows "Asylum Lake." Fifteen femal patients and one attendant assumed immediate residency at the old farm house in September 1887, with two more patients and another attendant joining them the next June. The Trustees Report describes their rejuvenated spirits, "The general health of this family has been excellent, and all have gained rapidly in weight; the listless, dispirited expressions many of them wore on the wards, have disappeared and most have made decided mental improvement." The institution continued operation at Asylum Lake until 1976, after which time the land was given to Western Michigan University. Steam tunnels, foundation, a well house and other anthropogenic structures remain on the site. |
