| Fairview Training Center | |
| State of Oregon | |
|---|---|
| LeBreton Cottage at Fairview, built in 1908 | |
| Geography | |
| Location | Salem, Oregon, United States |
| Coordinates | [1] |
| Organization | |
| Care system | Public |
| Hospital type | Psychiatric hospital |
| History | |
| Founded | 1908 |
| Closed | 2000 |
| Links | |
| Website | None |
| Lists | Hospitals in Oregon |
| Other links | Oregon State Hospital |
The Fairview Training Center was a state-run facility for people with developmental disabilities in Salem, Oregon, United States. Fairview was established in 1907 as the State Institution for the Feeble-Minded. The hospital opened on December 1, 1908 with 39 patients transferred from the Oregon State Insane Asylum.[2] Before its closure in 2000, Fairview was administered by the Oregon Department of Human Services (DHS).[3] DHS continued to operate the Eastern Oregon Training Center in Pendleton[4][5] until October 2009.
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In 1907, the Oregon State Institution for the Feeble-Minded was created by the Oregon State Legislature.[6] It was established as a quasi-educational institution charged with educating the "feeble-minded" (today known as people with mental retardation and various other developmental and learning disabilities) and caring for the "idiotic and epileptic."[6] The facility was overseen by a Board of Trustees consisting of the Governor, Secretary of State and State Treasurer.[6] Construction had progressed enough by 1908 that the first patients were transferred from the Oregon State Insane Asylum (now the Oregon State Hospital).[6] They resided on a 670-acre (2.7 km2) compound consisting of an administration building (LeBreton Cottage),[7] a dormitory, a laundry and boiler house.[6] By 1913, two more cottages where constructed and the Board of Trustees was replaced by the Oregon State Board of Control.[6]
In 1917, a commitment law was passed that was to standardize admissions to the institution by insuring that valuable space was used for the "feeble-minded" and not for the "insane".[6] It also imposed an age limit on admissions to people five years of age and older.[6] The age limit was removed in 1921.[6]
The institution had a working farm that provided both food and training for its residents.[6] By 1920, most of the land to be used for farming had been cleared.[6] 400 acres (1.6 km2) were planted in crops and 45 acres (180,000 m2) in orchards.[6] The farm also raised hogs, chickens, and dairy and beef cattle.[6]
In 1923, the legislature established the Oregon Board of Eugenics, and Fairview's superintendent served as an ex-officio board member.[6] The eugenics legislation provided for the "sterilization of all feeble-minded, insane, epileptics, habitual criminals, moral degenerates, and sexual perverts who are a menace to society."[6] Sterilizations required either the person's consent or a court order.[6] By 1929, 300 residents had been sterilized.[6]
Two types of parole for residents were established in 1931: home parole and industrial parole.[6] Requirements for parole included a surety bond filed by the parolee's guardian or overseer, who had to have a net worth of at least $1000 and have lived in the state for at least six months, the parolee had to be sterilized, and the home or workplace had to be inspected.[6] Two-thirds of residents who had been sterilized were paroled, which freed up beds for new patients.[6]
In 1933 the facility was renamed Oregon Fairview Home.[6]
Changes in care and additions to the facility continued through the 1940s-1960s, and improvements were made to the medical care and nutrition of the residents.[6]
In 1965, Oregon Fairview Home was renamed Fairview Hospital and Training Center.[6]
In the late 1960s, the orchard, raising of beef, and general farm activities were eliminated.[6] The raising of hogs was eliminated in 1975 and poultry processing ended in 1977.[6] These activities had formerly provided all the ham, bacon, sausage, eggs, broiler chickens, and pork chops used by Fairview.[6]
In 1969, the Board of Control was dissolved and the Mental Health Division placed under the newly created Executive Department of the state government.[6]
In 1979, the facility changed its name from Fairview Hospital and Training Center to Fairview Training Center.[6]
Fairview was closed on March 1, 2000.[6]
A group known as Sustainable Fairview Associates purchased 275 acres (1.11 km2) of the former Fairview grounds in 2002.[8] The land included several historic buildings.[9]
In 2004, Sustainable Fairview Associates sold 32 acres (130,000 m2) of their holdings to Sustainable Development Inc. for building Pringle Creek Community, a sustainable housing development.[9][10]
Pierce Cottage, one of several buildings remaining on the former Fairview site, was gutted by a fire of suspicious origin in January 2010.[11][12] The building had previously been slated for demolition and recycling.[13] Two men were charged with arson in connection with the fire the next month.[14]
The cottages on the grounds housed both staff and patients. Some of the structures were named after Oregon governors, including:
Where's Molly? is a 2007 documentary about Molly Daly who was institutionalized at the Fairview Hospital and Training Center in the 1950s.[15]