Title: La Crosse County, Wisconsin, Insane Asylum and Mental Hospital Records
Inclusive Dates: 1887-1973

Creator:

• La Crosse County Insane Asylum and Mental Hospital (Wis.)

Call Number: La Crosse Series 59

Quantity: 4.0 cubic feet (1 archives box and 22 volumes) and 2 reels of microfilm (35 mm)

Repository:

Housed at the Special Collections & Area Research Center, Murphy Library, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse; owned by the Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Library, Archives and Museum Collections

Archival Locations:

UW-La Crosse Murphy Library / La Crosse Area Research Ctr. (Map)

COLLECTION MAY BE STORED OFF-SITE: see catalog entry to request materials and for additional information.

Abstract:

Records of a La Crosse County mental health institution established at West Salem, as part of the Wisconsin County Asylum system. The facility was founded as the La Crosse County Insane Asylum in 1887 and became the La Crosse County Mental Hospital in the 1950s and finally the Lakeview Healthcare Center in 1968. The records primarily document the administrative and financial history of the institution, plus limited information about the patients. The records best document the years 1887-1930. Included are Board of Trustees meeting minutes, superintendents' correspondence, inmate admission and billing information (including biographical information), and financial journals and ledgers.

Note:

There is a restriction on access to this material; see the Administrative/Restriction Information portion of this finding aid for details.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-lacr0059

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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.

The records document the administrative and financial history of the La Crosse County Insane Asylum, later known as the La Crosse County Mental Hospital, and contains information about individuals treated at the facility. The records are divided into three series: ADMINISTRATION, FINANCIAL, INMATE AND PATIENT INFORMATION. The series are arranged in alphabetical order, as are subseries, and thereunder chronological. The information in this collection is solely for the Insane Asylum/Mental Hospital and its associated farm. The La Crosse County Poor Farm was a separate entity, unlike the arrangement in some other counties.

The series of ADMINISTRATION records deal with the establishment and financial management of the institution, and contains an agriculture record book (labeled ‘Eggs'), Board of Trustees minute books, correspondence, and a visitor book. The agriculture records detail garden production and processing, as well as consumption of various foodstuffs from 1957-1964. There is very little information on livestock production. Although the Board of Trustees minutes span virtually the entire lifetime of the institution, the information chiefly concerns auditing invoices for expenses incurred. Meeting frequency and amount of detail in the minutes changes over time, perhaps reflecting the make-up of the Board. Supporting documents, such as Supervisors reports, are not a part of the collection, though many can be found in the SHSW Library's Government Publications collection. Correspondence is present only through 1907 with a few surviving papers from 1931-1935. The correspondence covers a wide range of issues, such as commitment, communication with inmates' families, trades people, and governing bodies. The correspondence consists of three letterpress books that were microfilmed. Some pages of the original letterpress book were faded and the microfilm is the best possible copy. Each book includes an index listing the recipient. The Visitor Book, 1888-1903, lists visitors' names and their city of residence.

The FINANCIAL series contains Journals and Ledgers, 1888-1960. The Journals detail the daily cash outlay of the institution and are indexed. They provide information on the daily operations of the facility. The Ledgers provide a monthly accounting of expenses by category. The volumes were intended to also record income, but the pages have been altered to include only expense information. Any information on income, such as payments from the counties and for surplus farm goods, is found in the Board of Trustees minute books or the Correspondence, though the information is somewhat limited.

The INMATE AND PATIENT INFORMATION series contains the Board and Clothing Record books, Record of Inmates books, and medical information in the Doctor's Call Book and Physicians Report. Board and Clothing books provide a monthly summary of costs for each patient, broken out by county and state-at-large, for the years 1900-1969. The patients from La Crosse County are in alphabetical order. These books do not record payments. The Record of Inmates books cover 1888-1927, and 1888-1912 and patients admitted from 1888-1912 may appear in both books. There are separate indexes to each volume. The books provide biographical information on patients including names, ages, admission date, persons responsible for commitment, support information, nationality, previous treatment, sometimes occupation, marital status, and religion, and guardianship/discharge/transfer/death information. If the inmate was buried in the Asylum cemetery, the lot number is included.

Access Restrictions

Registration and treatment records created in the course of providing services to individuals for mental illness, developmental disabilities, and alcohol/drug dependence are confidential under Wis. Stats. § 51.30. A signed agreement with the Lakeview Healthcare Center permits access to restricted records under the following conditions:

• 1. Records more than 75 years old are open for research
• 2. Records less than 75 years old may be accessed under the following provisions

• a. Prospective users submit to the Archives a written request describing the project to be undertaken, the records to be used, and the proposed product of their research; requests for information about specific individuals or cases will not be permitted
• b. Prospective users sign a written agreement that there shall be no disclosure, either directly or deductively, of personally identifiable information taken from these files
• c. Copying of materials is prohibited.

Acquisition Information

Accession Number: C1985/073

La Crosse Series 59	Series: Administration, 1887-1973
Box   1 Volume   1	Agriculture Record Book (labeled "Eggs"), 1957-1964
	Board of Trustees records
Volume 2	1887-1904
Volume 3	1904-1973
	Correspondence
Reel 1	1892-1899
Reel 1-2	1899-1903
Reel 2	1903-1907
Box   1	Loose material from Volume 6, 1907-1908, 1931-1935
Volume 4	Visitor book, 1888-1903
	Series: Financial, 1887-1968	⇧
	Journals [Expense]
Volume 5	1888-1906
Volume 6	1906-1913
Box   1 Volume 7	1934-1951
Box   1 Volume 8	1951-1956
	Ledger books
Volume 9	1888-1913
Volume 10	1913-1930
Volume 11	1940-1960
	Series: Inmate and Patient Information, 1874-1969	⇧
	Board and clothing record
Volume 12	1900-1920
Volume 13	1920-1939
Volume 14	1939-1953 Access Restrictions: RESTRICTED
Volume 15	1952-1966 Access Restrictions: RESTRICTED
Volume 16	1968-1969 Access Restrictions: RESTRICTED
Volume 17	Doctor's Call Book, 1914-1944
Volume 18	Physicians Report, 1911-1913
	Record of Inmates
Box   1 Volume 19	Index to 1888-1912, labeled "Daybook"
Volume 20	1888-1912
Box   1 Volume 21	Index to 1888-1927
Volume 22	1888-1927