Harrisburg State Hospital
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Pennsylvania State Lunatic Hospital
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Harrisburg State Hospital Administration Building, May 2007
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| Location | Cameron St., Harrisburg, Pennsylvania |
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| Coordinates | 40°16′59″N 76°52′24″W / 40.28306°N 76.87333°WCoordinates: 40°16′59″N 76°52′24″W / 40.28306°N 76.87333°W |
| Area | 183 acres (74 ha) |
| Built | 1851 |
| Architect | John A. Dempwolf; Et al. |
| Architectural style | Classical Revival |
| NRHP Reference # | |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | January 8, 1986 |
| Designated PHMC | October 07, 1987 |
Harrisburg State Hospital, formerly known as Pennsylvania State Lunatic Hospital from 1851 to 1937, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Dauphin County, on Cameron and McClay Streets, was Pennsylvania’s first public facility to house the mentally ill and disabled.
The Harrisburg State Hospital was created as the Pennsylvania State Lunatic Hospital and Union Asylum for the Insane in 1845 to provide care for mentally ill persons throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
The hospital was the result of the successful lobbying efforts of 19th century social reformer, Dorothea Dix. A nine-member board of trustees was empowered to appoint a superintendent, purchase land, and construct facilities near Harrisburg. This board of trustees received no compensation for their work. In 1848, the name of the hospital was changed to the Pennsylvania State Lunatic Hospital when $50,000 was appropriated to begin construction. Patients from all parts of the state would be accepted at the hospital, at the expense of the counties that they belonged; or, if able they would pay for themselves at a cost of $2.50 per week. This cost included board and medical attention. Originally the hospital only had one building which housed the administration, staff, and patients. Built in 1851, the Main Building was designed following the Kirkbride Plan which was a very popular building style during the late 19th century. The original capacity of the building was 250 patients, but was later expanded with the removal of dining rooms and the addition of the North and South Branch Buildings.
A 130-acre (53 ha) farm was located adjacent to the hospital and provided work therapy for the patients and also enabled the hospital to be self-supporting, by growing its own food, and raising its own livestock. When the first patient was admitted on October 6, 1851, every poor district was charged a $2.00 weekly maintenance fee for the care of each indigent patient. The boarding charges for private patients were scheduled to vary between $3.00 and $10.00 based upon ability to pay. In 1869 the Board of Public Charities was created to inspect all public and voluntary charitable institutions in the Commonwealth and to report to the legislature with recommendations concerning their operation. For four decades this unpaid Board and its small staff had no authority to correct the conditions it found within state institutions. Nonetheless, by persuasion and publicity they were able to improve the quality of care in public institutions. A major objective was the removal of the insane from almshouses to the Pennsylvania State Lunatic Hospital and other state hospitals. A Committee on Lunacy was created within the Board of Public charities in 1883 to oversee the operations of these mental institutions.
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