Winnebago Mental Health Institute (WMHI) is located on the scenic west shore of Lake Winnebago, four miles north of Oshkosh.  The purchase price for the original 338 acres of land was $26,000.  Construction of the Northern Hospital for the Insane (now WMHI) began in 1871.  The first patient was admitted on April 21, 1873.  The original building was completed on November 11, 1875, with the capacity of 500 beds.

From the beginning...

July 23, 1870
I walked by to see the land that was creating such a controversy, four miles north of the city limits on the west shore of Lake Winnebago.  The site is elevated for perfect drainage and certainly appears desirous for the intended purpose.  There are 300 acres of which 100 acres are covered by timber.  The land looks to be very rich and is located in a fertile farming region from which supplies could be cheaply procured.

August 18, 1870
I read again that the controversy between Oshkosh and Green Bay still rages.   The Oshkosh Journal said today to Green Bay, which is still circulating reports that Oshkosh has lost their bid for the hospital, "not to enumerate their feathered bipeds previous to incubation or coviferate violently before emerging from the precincts of the forest."

August 20, 1870
The Oshkosh Journal today implored us to vote for the $16,000 necessary to locate the asylum here:  "The merchant, the lumberman, the grocer, the miller, the poor man, the rich man, all will get their share of it."

August 27, 1870
The voters cast nearly unanimous support for the $16,000 needed to start the asylum.  The voter turnout was quite heavy.

May 23, 1872
From the Northwestern:  "I am indebted to Erwin Heath, Esq., the gentlemanly postmaster at Oshkosh for a pleasant drive of four miles from the center of the city to the site of the Northern Wisconsin Hospital for the Insane, now in process of construction at that place.  Just without the limits of the city the dome of the new building makes its appearance and shortly a massive pile of walls begin to loom up across the cultivated field just in the edge of the grove that skirts the western margin of Lake Winnebago, and although only one-third of the vast structure is yet built, it forms by far the most conspicuous object the eye rests upon going out of Oshkosh to the north."

November 2, 1872
Yesterday the Governor appointed the Trustees of the Northern Hospital and they will soon meet.  The severe winter has delayed the opening, which was supposed to be this week, until sometime in the spring.

April 21, 1873
Today the first patient arrived and Northern State Hospital for the Insane is now operating.  Dr. Walter Kempster, who was appointed Superintendent a few months ago, has assembled a staff of an assistant physician, eighteen attendants, cooks, a steward, and engineer.  There are enough beds for 150 patients.

January 11, 1875
The main building was completed as of today.  There are enough beds for a few over 500 patients.  The attendants live on the wards with the patients and work a 12-15 hour day, with a day off each month, and they are encouraged

to take that in half days.   Dr. Kempster, who came to the hospital with excellent credentials, is doing a fine job in keeping the hospital organized and running well.  He has national fame because of his projection of slides of brain cells onto a screen.  He is doing a great deal of research into the changes in the brain causing mental illness.

July 12, 1878
A 41-year-old mother of six children was admitted with the following family history:  "Father of patient eccentric; mother of patient died insane; oldest sister also insane; next sister suicided by poison; the fifth child (brother of patient) shot himself; sixth child (sister of patient) suicided by hanging; and there are two other children not yet insane.  The oldest son of the eldest sister is also insane."

The hospital, through extensive farming and lumbering, was nearly self-sustaining; many honors were received for the quality and production of the prized dairy herd.  Through the years, the treatment emphasis on physical work projects, mostly farming, gave way to more interpersonal involvement.

It was believed that sunlight, fresh air, work, and good nutrition were important in the treatment of the mentally ill.  From 1905 until 1938 a petting zoo was located on the grounds.  It afforded an opportunity for the patients to care for the animals.

The discovery of tranquilizers in the 1950's heralded the dawn of a new age for the mentally ill the world over.  The affect on patients was remarkable.  These drugs eliminated the need for electroshock therapy and prefrontal lobotomies; they drastically reduced the use of mechanical restraints.  Many patients were able to take an active role in their recovery.