Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1897-06-03

James T. jackson, George J. Arnold,
William E. Arnold, Johnson n. Cam
den and John Brannon. Almost the
first act of the new board was to ar
range for the purchase of two hun
dred and sixty-nine acres Of land, en-
bracing the site selected by the COM
missioners, which was acquired at a
cost of $9,8O9.l2, which was paid for
out of the first appropriation. From
the first report of the board, it ap-
pears that owners of portions of the
land made liberal sacrifices in the sale,
in order to encourage and promote the
enterprise.
The next question for the board to
consider was the adoption of plan
for the building and inasmuch as the
act of the assembly contemplated that
before the adoption Of one it should
be submitted to "some physician or
physicians who had charge of similar
establishments, or are practically ac-
ouainted with all the details for their
management, and receive their full ap-
probation" and, with this end in view,
the board delegated to two of It's MEM
bers, John Brannon and William L.
Arnold, the authority to visit various
hospitals for the insane located in the
northern and eastern States, that they
might obtain such information as
would better aid the board in making
a proper selection of a plan for the
new hospital.
The services of R. Snowden An
drews, Of Baltimore, were engaged, and
the draft of the present main structure
of the hospital was prepared and SUBJ
mitted to DR.. Kirkbride, of Philadel-
phia, Pa, and DR.. Stribblng, of Staun-
ton, Va, who were recognized as two
Of the most eminent authorities on IN
sanity in the United States, for their
approval. After suggesting certain
changes i'll the plan, making it con-
form to the most recent hospital arch
itecture, it was finally adopted by the
board of directors.
1t is creditable to all who were In
any manner engaged in the formation
of this plan, that, with the exception
of a few changes which must now be
suggested, it is today recognized as one
of the most complete buildings of the
kind in the United States and well
adapted to the purposes for which 1t
was designed. The most important
change that the present necessities re-
ouire is the substitution Of congregate
dining-rooms, which experience has
demonstrated to be very essential to
well-regulated hospitals for the insane.
In addition to the sum Of $4,000
appropriated by the legislature of Vir-
ginia, 100000 were obtained from
the same source and $4,000 from the
restored government of Virginia,
The major part of these appropriations
was expended in excavations and
foundations for the building, as it was
deemed proper that the entire found
ations should be built before the con-
struction of any Of the suPerstructure.
Doubtless there was much wisdom
displayed in this determination, for the
reason that it allowed the foundation
work to become thoroughly settled be-
fore additional weight was put on 1t,
thereby obviating the dangers incident
to the construction of heavy structures
on green foundations. Consider for a
moment that the length Of the main
building lacks but few feet OF being
one-uuarter of mile, and that IN or
der to get permanent and secure base
much of the foundation is buried
twenty feet beneath the surface Of the
ground, and it can be readily comPre-
hended why SO much of the approPria-
tions was used for that purpose.
When this nucleus OF a noble charl-
ty fell to the fostering care Of West
Virginia, by reason Of it having sever
ed its connection with the old State,
there was no building within its bOrd-
ers dedicated to the uses Of the unfor-
tunate insane 1t may, therefore, be
accepted as a matter for congratulatiOn |
that at the inception of the project the |
world entertained different idea in
regard to the provision for this class
of unfortunates which was advanced |
above the mere necessities of utility !
and security and embodied the broad
er and nobler conception of true and
unalloyed humanity. Being absorbed |
by the genius of progress, and possess
ing the higher endowments of humane
sentiment, the board of directors took |
advantage of the experience repro
duced in the most renowned institu-
tions of the country, and, selecting