Fairview Training Center

Fairview Training Center
State of Oregon
LeBreton Cottage at Fairview, built in 1908
Geography
Location	Salem, Oregon, United States
Coordinates	44°53′52″N 123°00′49″W / 44.8978981°N 123.0137063°W / 44.8978981; -123.0137063Coordinates: 44°53′52″N 123°00′49″W / 44.8978981°N 123.0137063°W / 44.8978981; -123.0137063[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.^{[citation needed]}

History

Early history

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]

Modern history

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]

Cottages

The cottages on the grounds housed both staff and patients. Some of the structures were named after Oregon governors, including:

• Benson Cottage - Frank W. Benson
• Chamberlain Cottage - George Earle Chamberlain
• Lane Cottage - Joseph Lane
• Martin Cottage - Charles Martin
• Meier Cottage - Julius Meier
• Pierce Cottage - Walter M. Pierce (image) Destroyed by fire January 27, 2010^[11]
• Smith Cottage - Elmo Smith
• Snell Cottage - Earl Snell
• Withycombe Cottage - James Withycombe

Fairview in the media

Where's Molly? is a 2007 documentary about Molly Daly who was institutionalized at the Fairview Hospital and Training Center in the 1950s.^[15]

See also

• List of institutions for the mentally disabled

References

1. ^ "Fairview Home". Geographic Names Information System, U.S. Geological Survey. November 28, 1980. http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/f?p=gnispq:3:::NO::P3_FID:1120576. Retrieved 2010-01-30. 
2. ^ Salem Online History
3. ^ House Bill 3599, Seventy-second Oregon Legislative Assembly (2003)
4. ^ "Supports for Adults". Oregon Department of Human Services: Developmental Disabilities Division. http://www.oregon.gov/DHS/dd/adults/residential.shtml. Retrieved January 26, 2009. 
5. ^ "Chapter 427 — Persons With Mental Retardation; Persons With Developmental Disabilities". Oregon Revised Statutes. 2007. http://www.leg.state.or.us/ors/427.html. Retrieved January 26, 2009. 
6. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac} "Fairview Training Center: Agency History". Oregon Blue Book. Oregon Secretary of State. 1994. http://bluebook.state.or.us/state/executive/Mental_Health/fairview.htm. 
7. ^ Oregon Historic Photograph Collections
8. ^ "Planners May Hand Off Fairview". Statesman Journal (pringlecreekcommunity.com). August 20, 2005. http://www.pringlecreekcommunity.com/news/8_20_05.htm. Retrieved 2010-01-28. 
9. ^ ^{a b} "Fairview Plan would Pay Dividends for City". Statesman Journal (pringlecreekcommunity.com). February 16, 2004. http://www.pringlecreek.com/news/2_16_04.htm. Retrieved 2010-01-28. 
10. ^ "Pringle Creek Community". Statesman Journal (pringlecreekcommunity.com). August 22, 2005. http://www.pringlecreekcommunity.com/news/8_22_05.htm. Retrieved 2010-01-28. 
11. ^ ^{a b} "3-alarm Old Fairview Center fire in Salem". KGW. http://www.kgw.com/news/2-alarm-blaze-at-abandoned-state-hospital-in-Salem-82845467.html. Retrieved 2010-01-28. 
12. ^ Guerrero-Huston, Thelma; Michael Rose (January 29, 2010). "Fire raises suspicions". Statesman Journal. http://www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20100129/NEWS/1290326/Fairview-fire-raises-suspicions. Retrieved 2010-01-29. ^{[dead link]}
13. ^ Guerrero-Huston, Thelma; Michael Rose (January 29, 2010). "Structure that burned, one of 50 at site, was to be demolished anyway". Statesman Journal. http://www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20100129/NEWS/1290327. Retrieved 26 February 2010. ^{[dead link]}
14. ^ Russell, Michael (February 18, 2010). "Keizer men arrested in fire at Fairview Training Center in Salem". The Oregonian. http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2010/02/keizer_men_arrested_in_fire_at.html. Retrieved 19 February 2010. 
15. ^ "Review: "Where's Molly?"". OregonLive.com. March 9, 2007. http://blog.oregonlive.com/madaboutmovies/2007/03/review_wheres_molly.html. Retrieved January 26, 2009. 

External links

• Historic images of Fairview from Salem Public Library.
• Images of abandoned structures at Fairview from the University of Oregon digital archives
• Where's Molly official website
• "In Our Care" a 1959 film about Fairview from The Oregonian
• "Away from the Public Gaze": A History of the Fairview Training Center and the Institutionalization of People with Developmental Disabilities in Oregon from The Teaching Research Institute at Western Oregon University
• Photo essay of closed Fairview site from Flickr