Menomonie, Wisconsin History/Dunn County Asylum

The Dunn County Asylum for the Chronic Insane served the Dunn County for over 50 years and was a part of building the history of Menomonie. The asylum began construction in February of 1891 and finished it in just one short year. The building was located just 2 miles east of Menomonie. It was one of the most complete asylums for its time that was built to create a comfortable, wholesome home for the afflicted to be happy. Not only did they positively affect their patients, they also made money and gave back to the town of Menomonie and to Dunn county. The asylum is important because it is a big piece of Menomonie's history. A lot of people are unaware that the asylum existed in Menomonie and this sheds light on the topic as well as creates awareness as to how it affected the town.

bstaab22

Construction and Early Days

Talk started about building an asylum in Menomonie, Wisconsin after the Poor Farm was established. The Poor Farm took care of poor men and women that lived in Dunn county. There were 49 Dunn County supported patients that were being sent to other counties which aided in the decision to construct an asylum. The committee decided it would be better to serve the afflicted right here in Dunn County. After this, the board of Dunn county recognized the need for an asylum as well as the potential benefits. In February of 1891, the county board appointed John Charles with this responsibility of building an asylum. It didn’t take long for them to choose a site to build just on the outskirts of Menomonie. They had to buy the land from Knapp, Stout & Co for $6,000 and then began building. The total cost to just build the building was around $65,000, not including the cost of the other items that went inside the building. Compare this to how much it would cost to construct a building today! No asylum in the state of Wisconsin was more complete in all of its appointments for the care and comfort of the patients.

The committee visited asylums in other counties to figure out how they ran and the layout of things so they would know what to expect. The normal capacity of the asylum was 117 patients but it could house a few more if they needed to. It only cost about $3 a week per patient to house and take care of the patients. This cost included the care of patients, that the government paid $1.50 of. This is about the cost of other asylums around our area. They also got more money if they accepted people from other counties, which was a major reason for them building an asylum.

Interestingly, in the middle of building, the superintendent sent out a request to local farmers. He wanted farmers to deliver a small tree to the asylum. On this tree the farmers were to attach a card to each one with the name and residence of the donor (farmer). Plans were also made to open a farm that would be run by only a few paid workers as well as the rest by patients themselves. Patients were chosen based on how sick they were and were supervised the entire time. The patients could learn a lot and it was good for them to take care of the animals.

Once the building was done it was 235 feet in length and 120 feet in length. The asylum accepted its first patient on February 10, 1892.

How It Ran

Staff

An interesting part of this asylum is that there was no in house doctor. There was a physician named Dr. N.L. Howison who lived in Menomonie that visited the hospital twice a week or was on call for whenever they needed him. Staff included the superintendent, a matron, four day attendants and two night attendants. There was not a lot of staff at the building at any point in time.

Farm

The institution soon became self-supporting with the opening of the farm on the property. The farm consisted of cows and chickens as well as crops like corn and beans. Only three men were employed on the farm from outside of the asylum. Some trustworthy patients were allowed to work on the farm in the summer and they were allowed to take care of the animals under the supervision of the staff. They made and grew more than they needed each season. Whatever crops they had left were sold at the local markets. In 1924 there was a net profit of almost $4,500. This was one way that the institution made money.

Another interesting piece of history that came out of the asylum was a patient that was there. Laura Ingalls Wilder’s aunt, Julia (Bard) Ingalls resided in the asylum because of the deaths of her children. She was there for almost 20 years. She ended up dying there May of 1910. She was laid to rest in the asylum’s cemetery.

Asylums Effect on Menomonie

One effect that the asylum had on Menomonie was the profit it brought to the town. It was not originally created to make money, but it did. As someone stated in the 1925 History of Dunn County, it was originally created to “create a comfortable, wholesome home for the afflicted to be made happy”. However, with the money aspect, every dollar that the asylum made, it was able to help out the town. It also brought people over from other counties. Often families of the afflicted would live in Menomonie to be a little closer to the asylum, allowing them to visit their loved ones. This brought more money into the economy of the town. The crops that were grown on the farm would also go towards the markets in Menomonie which would have helped a lot with food and other goods.

The Property Now

Dunn County Health Care Center. Old site of Dunn County Asylum for the Chronic Insane

Unfortunately, the asylum did shut down in 1971. However before it did, they renamed it in 1947 to “Dunn County Hospital”. It ran as a hospital for a few more years and then shifted slightly again. In 1972, it was renamed "Dunn County Health Care Center". Included in this was a nursing home and a psychiatric unit.There was no significant reason as to why the asylum shut down. However, it switched from a hospital to a health care center, switching management in the process. It is interesting how it is still the health care center today, it has just changed slightly over the years, including the location which has been changed multiple times.

References

Dunn County Health Care Center. (1891). Records, 1891-1978.

Dunn History. A Menomonie Timeline, prehistory-1999.

Dybvik, A. (2007). Menomonie / Ann Christy Dybvik. (Images of America). Charleston, SC: Arcadia Pub.

History of Dunn County. Asylum History, 1891.

The Dunn County News. Scenes of Yesteryear: Asylum provided a home for the afflicted, (Oct 28,2012).