Photo By Brad Staggs | The Aitkenhead Colony building, built in 1920, was the first patient housing building...... read more read more
MUSCATATUCK URBAN TRAINING CENTER, Ind. – On December 15, 2020, the Muscatatuck facility in Butlerville, Ind., will officially turn 100 years old.
Although the first patients (or, as they were called at the time, inmates) arrived at what was then called the Indiana Farm Colony for the Feeble-Minded on March 30, 1920, Indiana Governor James P. Goodrich did not declare the facility “open for business” until December 15, 1920.
The facility has seen changes in treatment, personnel, philosophy, and, finally, mission. For 85 years, it was one of the leading mental treatment facilities in the state, closing in 2005 and immediately reopening as the most realistic urban training site for military and first responders in the world. Seven names have come with those changes, as well:
1920-1930: Indiana Farm Colony for the Feeble-Minded
1930-1937: Muscatatuck Farm Colony
1937-1941: Muscatatuck Colony
1941-1971: Muscatatuck State School
1971-1985: Muscatatuck State Hospital and Training Center
1985-2005: Muscatatuck State Developmental Center
2005-Present: Muscatatuck Urban Training Center
An entire living, breathing city sprang up around and through the site, at one time holding more than 2,000 patients with several hundred on waiting lists to get in. The site was self-sustaining with cattle, hog, and chicken farms as well as several hundred acres of tillable land on which crops were grown. Records show many years of excess which could be sold after feeding the patients and staff.
A changing attitude toward those with special needs, new medications, and new government mandates brought an end to the mental health facility following years of dwindling patient numbers, but a new focus was found when the Indiana National Guard was given control of Muscatatuck in June of 2005.
The history of the facility is being archived and saved for former employees and future generations at the Muscatatuck Museum, housed on site in Building 5208, formerly known as Tyler Hall. The staff at the museum gladly accepts donations of items of historical importance to the facility. During this time, tours of the museum are by appointment only by calling Master Sgt. Brad Staggs at 317-247-3300 ext. 41610 or Ms. Kathy Speer at 317-247-3300 ext. 41612.
| Date Taken: | 12.11.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 12.11.2020 11:33 |
| Story ID: | 384777 |
| Location: | BUTLERVILLE, INDIANA, US |
| Web Views: | 293 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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