State Hospital, c.1948
Collection of the Massillon Museum
Gift of the Evening Independent (91.47.3069)
How do I find my relatives who lived at the Massillon State Hospital?
Unfortunately those records do not appear to exist any longer. The former State Hospital grounds are owned in part by the City of Massillon and by Heartland Behavioral Center. Heartland retains patient records for the last 10 years, and are not available to the public. The Massillon Museum does not have any records of residents.
Another way to track down your relatives’ information is through the Stark County Recorder’s Office. They retain vital information, including birth certificates, death certificates, and marriage certificates. Please click here to visit their site.
Photographs of the State Hospital:
The Massillon Museum preserves a small collection of photos of the Massillon State Hospital, which may be viewed here. Reproductions of these images are available upon request. Prices may be found here.
Postcards showing the interior of McKinley Hall (top, BC 3919.20) and the dining hall (bottom 89.13).Collection of the Massillon Museum
History of the Massillon State Hospital
The grounds where the State Hospital exists originally was owned by James Duncan, founder of Massillon. In 1817, he and his wife Eliza moved into a cottage on the land called “Estramadura Farm,” or “The Plains.” The home was built by William R. Dickinson to raise Merino sheep, and Estramadura was the name of the region in Spain where the sheep originated. By 1821, the Duncan family moved to Kendal, Ohio, and later built homes in Massillon.
State Hospital water tower, c.1899
Collection of the Massillon Museum
Gift of the Karl Spuhler Estate (91.7.574)
During William McKinley’s first term as the governor of Ohio, the city of Massillon was chosen for the very first state hospital in the United States and Canada in 1892. The Massillon Board of Trade purchased the Kegler and Smith farms to complete the 400 acres needed for the hospital. Construction of the hospital began in 1893 with the groundbreaking for McKinley Hall. The hospital opened on September 6, 1898, housing 300 patients from 21 different counties.
Even though it holds the name Massillon, it was not really owned by Massillon itself. This is because there was no money collected from the city in taxes, and the hospital supported itself with patients’ payments and the farm grounds.
State Hospital fields
Collection of the Massillon Museum
Gift of the Karl Spuhler Estate (91.7.575)
The hospital was both a member of the American and Ohio Hospital Associations and it functions through the Board of Trustees (consisting of nine local men). The hospital was originally the Eastern Ohio Mental Asylum, but was later changed to the Massillon State Hospital.
Dr. A.B. Richardson was the first superintendent for one year. Patients were housed in cottages across the grounds, instead of large dormitories that were previously used in other state hospitals. Richardson was followed by Dr. Henry C. Eyman. He made sure that the grounds were beautiful for all to enjoy. He created a patient work program to work on grounds beautification and farming to help sustain the operation of the hospital, and give the patients real jobs.
Gardens of the State Hospital, c.1920
Collection of the Massillon Museum (06.22.4 top, 06.22.2 bottom)
The Massillon Street Railway Company began service in 1891, with Main Street (now Lincoln Way) being the main thoroughfare. The tracks went as far south as Erie Street with a turn-around at the State Hospital. Many Massillonians enjoyed a ride to the state hospital, where they enjoyed picnics on Sundays on the hospital grounds, as the lush gardens and expansive fields made for a wonderful setting. Friday night dances held at the state hospital were popular entertainment.
Streetcars leaving the State Hospital Grounds, c.1900
Collection of the Massillon Museum (06.22.11)
By 1950, the hospital housed 3,100 patients with approximately 365 full and part time employees and nurses. The expanse of the land was so beautiful that many family picnics took place on the lawn, as well as the Massillon football and baseball games at Sunnyside Field.
Dr. Arthur G. Hyde served as superintendent from 1918-1954. Throughout his tenure, more than 250,000 patients had been admitted. One of the major problems that patients were admitted for was alcoholism. They strove to treat them and release them with the hope that they would not return. Dr. Hyde called each patient by name to make the experience more personal. Judge John H. Lamneck said that Hyde did more for the mentally ill than any other individual in the State of Ohio.
As philosophies for mental health treatment shifted by the mid-1970s, more than half of the patients were transferred to other facilities. The state hospital changed its name to Massillon Psychiatric Center and then to Heartland Behavioral Health Center, which remains its name today, with only a few hundred patients remain. Other community organizations and mental health agencies have stepped in to help and make services available to the community.
Aerial view of the State Hospital, c.1970
Collection of the Massillon Museum
Gift of the Massillon Area Chamber of Commerce (92.98.756)