Anna Marsh
Encyclopedia
Anna Marsh established the Vermont Asylum of the Insane in 1834.
. She was the widow of physician Perley Marsh.
She is responsible for the creation of the Brattleboro Retreat
, originally known as the Vermont Asylum for the Insane. She was the first woman credited with starting a hospital
for the mentally ill. She was responsible for selecting the trustees before her death.
A bad healing
experience leading to the death of a member of her family has been suggested as an impetus to her idea of creating a humane care option. Her vision was a facility patterned on a Quaker concept called moral treatment
.
She didn't have much to do with Brattleboro until she died, but her influence is enormous.
Upon her death, her will instructed heirs to build a mental hospital
in Brattleboro. This was founded in 1834 with her $10,000 bequest.
The Brattleboro Retreat grew in popularity and had success treating people with a combination of fresh air, exercise, good food, and other treatments for the "insane". Large porches on the buildings allowed patients to sit and read, relax
, and recover.
As of 2006, the Brattleboro Retreat, now named Retreat Healthcare, is still in operation serving a wide variety of mental conditions. It is a 1000-acre (4 km²) campus of many large buildings, a working farm
, and lots of land to explore.
Biography
Marsh was born and raised in Hinsdale, New HampshireHinsdale, New Hampshire
Hinsdale is a town in Cheshire County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 4,046 at the 2010 census. Hinsdale is home to part of Pisgah State Park in the northeast, and part of Wantastiquet Mountain State Forest in the northwest....
. She was the widow of physician Perley Marsh.
She is responsible for the creation of the Brattleboro Retreat
Brattleboro Retreat
The Brattleboro Retreat is a private, not-for-profit mental health and addictions hospital that provides comprehensive inpatient, outpatient, partial hospitalization and intensive outpatient services for children, adolescents and adults....
, originally known as the Vermont Asylum for the Insane. She was the first woman credited with starting a hospital
Hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
for the mentally ill. She was responsible for selecting the trustees before her death.
A bad healing
Healing
Physiological healing is the restoration of damaged living tissue, organs and biological system to normal function. It is the process by which the cells in the body regenerate and repair to reduce the size of a damaged or necrotic area....
experience leading to the death of a member of her family has been suggested as an impetus to her idea of creating a humane care option. Her vision was a facility patterned on a Quaker concept called moral treatment
Moral treatment
Moral treatment was an approach to mental disorder based on humane psychosocial care or moral discipline that emerged in the 18th century and came to the fore for much of the 19th century, deriving partly from psychiatry or psychology and partly from religious or moral concerns...
.
She didn't have much to do with Brattleboro until she died, but her influence is enormous.
Upon her death, her will instructed heirs to build a mental hospital
Mental Hospital
Mental hospital may refer to:*Psychiatric hospital*hospital in Nepal named Mental Hospital...
in Brattleboro. This was founded in 1834 with her $10,000 bequest.
The Brattleboro Retreat grew in popularity and had success treating people with a combination of fresh air, exercise, good food, and other treatments for the "insane". Large porches on the buildings allowed patients to sit and read, relax
Leisure
Leisure, or free time, is time spent away from business, work, and domestic chores. It is also the periods of time before or after necessary activities such as eating, sleeping and, where it is compulsory, education....
, and recover.
As of 2006, the Brattleboro Retreat, now named Retreat Healthcare, is still in operation serving a wide variety of mental conditions. It is a 1000-acre (4 km²) campus of many large buildings, a working farm
Farm
A farm is an area of land, or, for aquaculture, lake, river or sea, including various structures, devoted primarily to the practice of producing and managing food , fibres and, increasingly, fuel. It is the basic production facility in food production. Farms may be owned and operated by a single...
, and lots of land to explore.
External links
- Description of Retreat Buildings
- Retreat Healthcare (formerly Brattleboro Retreat)