In 1881, the Wisconsin Legislature began a system of county asylums in order to cope with overcrowding in state psychiatric facilities. Each of the county institutions was to be managed by the county but overseen by the newly created State Board of Supervision of Wisconsin Charitable, Reformatory and Penal Institutions (later the State Board of Control). The Legislature provided that, with its consent, any county could erect an asylum on land purchased for that purpose so long as plans and specifications met with the approval of the State Board. Each county asylum was governed by a board of three trustees selected by the county board of supervisors. These asylums housed all inmates from state institutions who were deemed to have chronic conditions, as well as all mentally ill inmates residing in local poor houses and others whom a county judged to be insane. Initially, each county asylum received $1.50 per week from the state for the subsistence of each patient.
The La Crosse County Insane Asylum for the Chronic Insane was one of the state system of county asylums. Under this system, inmates were first evaluated at a State hospital. If their condition was classified as incurable, they would then be sent to the county asylums. Inmates who were 'able' provided labor for the farm. The asylums were governed by a three-member Board of Trustees that selected a Superintendent and Matron (typically a married couple) and appointed a physician. There was no requirement for medical knowledge or education for these positions. For the first 80 years of operation, only four families operated as Superintendent and Matron, with the Matron or another family member taking over upon the death of a Superintendent:
|
Years
|
Superintendent
|
Matron
|
| 1888-1906 |
C.S. McKown |
Elizabeth M. McKown |
| 1906-1927 |
Oliver Gullickson |
Mrs. O. Gullickson |
| 1928-1929 |
Thorwald Gullickson |
Mrs. T. Gullickson |
| 1929-1948 |
John McIntyre |
Rose McIntyre |
| 1948-1950 |
Rose McIntyre |
-same- |
| 1950-1967? |
Leonard Yeske |
Mrs. L. Yeske |
The facility initially held approximately 100 inmates, but was expanded several times over the years, as was the farm. The facility was also known at the La Crosse County Asylum for the Chronic Insane and officially changed its name to the La Crosse County Mental Hospital in the 1950s. In 1968 the facility was renamed again to the Lakeview Health Center. After moving in to the current Lakeview Health Center facility near Lake Neshonoc in 1975, the original West Salem buildings were demolished in 1976.
