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
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.

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 intellectual disability 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 (270 ha) 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 (160 ha) were planted in crops and 45 acres (18 ha) 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 (111 ha) of the former Fairview grounds in 2002.[8] The land included several historic buildings.[9]

In 2004, Sustainable Fairview Associates sold 32 acres (13 ha) 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:

Fairview in the media

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Fairview Home". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. November 28, 1980. 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. Retrieved January 26, 2009.
  5. ↑ "Chapter 427 — Persons With Mental Retardation; Persons With Developmental Disabilities". Oregon Revised Statutes. 2007. Retrieved January 26, 2009.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 "Fairview Training Center: Agency History". Oregon Blue Book. Oregon Secretary of State. 1994.
  7. ↑ Oregon Historic Photograph Collections
  8. ↑ "Planners May Hand Off Fairview". Statesman Journal (pringlecreekcommunity.com). August 20, 2005. Retrieved 2010-01-28.
  9. 1 2 "Fairview Plan would Pay Dividends for City". Statesman Journal (pringlecreekcommunity.com). February 16, 2004. Retrieved 2010-01-28.
  10. ↑ "Pringle Creek Community". Statesman Journal (pringlecreekcommunity.com). August 22, 2005. Retrieved 2010-01-28.
  11. 1 2 "3-alarm Old Fairview Center fire in Salem". KGW. Retrieved 2010-01-28.
  12. ↑ Guerrero-Huston, Thelma; Michael Rose (January 29, 2010). "Fire raises suspicions". Statesman Journal. Retrieved 2010-01-29.
  13. ↑ Guerrero-Huston, Thelma; Michael Rose (January 29, 2010). "Structure that burned, one of 50 at site, was to be demolished anyway". Statesman Journal. Retrieved 26 February 2010.
  14. ↑ Russell, Michael (February 18, 2010). "Keizer men arrested in fire at Fairview Training Center in Salem". The Oregonian. Retrieved 19 February 2010.
  15. ↑ "Review: "Where's Molly?"". OregonLive.com. March 9, 2007. Retrieved January 26, 2009.

External links

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