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In 1675, the area today known as Byberry was settled on by four English brothers, the Waltons, in an attempt to
establish an area in which to freely practice their Quaker religion without persecution from the Crown. They named this area
after the name of the town in England which they came from, Bibury, near Bristol. The Waltons were followed some
years later by the Knights, the Carvers, the Comlys, and the Gilberts of Cornwall, (whom are my ancestors). I am thrilled
to be descended from some of the first settlers to byberry. The Gilberts arrived on the ship "Welcome" with William Penn in
1682. This area was known officially as "Smithville", it was quaint, flat with endless farmland and was highly habitable next
to the Poquessing creek. Many Lenni Lenape indian artifacts have been discovered in this area. A useful documentation can
be found through Google books entitled "the history of the townships of byberry and moreland".
The
Byberry area throughout the 18th and 19th centuries had been one of peaceful Quaker demeanor. It is said that the powerful
underground railroad of the area was help to many freed slaves.
Not until the mid 19th century did most of what is now northeast Philadelphia become even remotely populated. The further
north of the city, the more farmland and forest area one would encounter. In 1903, an act of congress called for a separate,
independent facility for the care of the mentally ill. The mentally ill had previously been housed at the "insane ward" of
Philadelphia General Hospital. About 1895, some insane patients were chosen to work on the "byberry farms", which the
city had recently purchased for the growing of food for Philadelphia General. This area included approximatelyt 1000 acres
of farmland in byberry, exactly what had attracted the Waltons to it 200 odd years previous. After the act of 1903, the Philadelphia
Department of Public Welfare chose this quiet, secluded area, not coincidentally enough right on the city limit, miles from
any "proper civilization", to begin erecting buildings for the new "Philadelphia hospital for mental diseases".
Byberry
was chosen for its limitless natural surroundings. It was, like most psychiatric hospitals at the time, a self-sufficient,
self-sustaining environment. The hospital would run off of its own food supply from its livestock barn and vegetable
gardens. And with patients holding more working positions than paid staff, the "asylum" was complete. Approximately 200 acres
of land was purchased from the Carter, Townsend, and Carver farms. The Carter house (still standing and occupied today) was
built in the 1790's.
In 1906, Byberry farms consisted of several
small wooden buildings for housing of the 30 odd patients that had been moved from the insane department of the Philadelphia
General hospital. They were rumored to have aided in construction of farmhouses. The first offically accepted patient was
a man by the name of William McClain, admitted for alcoholism in 1907, before the hospital was truely established.
Although the layout of the campus had already been planned by the architect, contruction was slow. In 1908, construction
began the male group, 6 Dormitory buildings, an infirmary, a kitchen, a laundry building, an administrative building, and
a heating plant. The male layout was not fully completed until the mid 1920's. Simply known as buildings A thru J (later known
as the E-buildings), and located on the east side of Roosevelt boulevard, surrounded by farmland, this is byberry's
official beginning. Connected by dark, often puddley underground patient traffic tunnels, the buildings were remeniscent
of Nazi concentration camps which weren't to be a known horror of the public eye until 30 years later.
The
early 20th century marked the beginning of the end for the common KirkBride Buildings (http://kirkbridebuildings.com/). Although the very first kirkbride hospital is in Philadelphia, and Kirkbride himself worked as an orderly at the
"Friends Hospital for the Indigent" as well as the Pennsylvania Hospital, and later became the superintendant of the "Pennsylvania
Hospital for the Insane" at 44th and Market, the department of Public Welfare (est. 1903) opted for a cottage plan
layout. The contract was awarded in 1904 to Philip H. Johnson. Johnson is credited with designing the Philadelphia General
Hospital, the City Hall Annex, and coincidentally enough, the Pennhurst State School in Spring City, which opened it's
first dorm in 1908. In accordance with the city contract signed in 1904, Johnson was to receive six percent
of all building and material costs used in construction as a comission through his "connected" politicians in Philadelphia's
notoriously crooked city government. Although this was a great deal for Johnson, the city watched thier funds closely
and costs remained tight which is one reason for several building renovations over the years at Byberry. By the time
of Johnson's death at age 65 in 1933, he had accomodated fees totaling $1,799,211!
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| BOYS CAFETERIA; JULY, 1927 |
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| BUILDING B (E-2) REFURBISHED; 2003 |
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| CHILDREN'S ROOM, COTTAGE 4; APRIL 1938 |
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| BUILDING C-8 DAYROOM; APRIL 1938 |
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| MALE PATIENTS WITH NO SHOES OR SOCKS |
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| BUILDING C (MALE-300 BEDS); JUN 1945 |
In 1909, with two buildings completed on
the female side and five on the male side, the Philadelphia Hospital for Mental Diseases officially opened its doors.
It was more like opening the floodgates. And the floodgates wouldn't close for another 80 years.
The West group or female side, buildings
1-16, (the C buildings) were to consist of 10 identical dormitory buildings, a kitchen/dining room building, two buildings
for TB patients, a laundry building, an administrative building, and an infirmary. These buildings were a bit more architecturally
ornate, having the connecting hallways above ground with large illuminating windows. In 1912, the two buildings for tubercular
patients were erected (C-6 & C-12). In 1919 the administrative building was added. A power plant was constructed
for the west group in 1910 with Westinghouse turbines for the generation of electricity. In 1928, a building to house
female staff and nurses was also built (S-10, later self-help). In 1933, a rear addition was added to the nurses quarters. Between
1922 and 1925, a laundry building was erected (C-15). Perhaps surprisingly, due to the condition of it, the last building
of the west group to be constructed was the Infirmary (C-14). This was not added until 1931, under already dire criticism
of the hospital's condition.
Expansion of the hospital called for a separate
unit for children. The children's camp was added in 1924. Located on the southwest corner of southampton and
the boulevard, a group of six cottages, a cafeteria, a small administrative building (S-3), and a small playground
were almost thrown together to house children.
By the early 1930's, Byberry's 19th century methods
were fading fast, washed away by the flood of overcrowding, Byberry's worst enemy and eventual conquerer. The buildings
themselves, built for a total population of 1000 male, 1000 female, and 100 children were being bullied and abused by numbers
in the 4000's. President Roosevelt's WPA (works progress administration) work quieted some of the storm, but Byberry was still
in big trouble. Unfortunately, the people who bore most of this burden were the patients.
This was long before the idea of psychology or psychiatry
had ever existed. In these days, doctors believed mental illness was attributed to a certain part of the brain. They gave
frontal lobotamies to patients and ended up with a bunch of vegetables, worse off than before. The average person
wanted to live life without ever coming in contact with the mental hospital at all. Needless to say, Byberry was not the place
to be during the depression years. Although
undocumented and ultimately forgotton, these were Byberry's most harsh and brutal years. Chances are, the stories that
circulate about nude patients, roofs with holes, rats in the food and bed shackles for weeks at a time, were harsh everyday
realities at this time. Allegedly, the hospital was given so little money by the city during the depression that after patients
had destroyed their clothing, they were housed in special buildings where patients were naked all year round because there
were simply no clothes or shoes for them. The city hired drunks and pretty much anyone off the street who was willing to work
for the measley wages they offered. Often after being arrested on a minor charge, criminals were offered the choice of
jail or work at byberry. These were the worst years of byberry's history. This is where the real "demon" of byberry emerged
and stained the reputation of the hospital until the very end.
Throughout the thirties, inspection tours turned up worse and worse conditions, but apparently not enough to present sufficient funds to run the hospital. By this time, 40 of 48 states
in the union had state controlled mental hospitals. And in 1936, mayor S. Davis Wilson, at the end of his term and pushing
for a senate seat, finally agreed to sign the dying hospital over to the state, and out of the city's unsteady hands,
admitting defeat, but bringing Byberry out of the dungeon....
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