Women and The Oregon State Insane Asylum

Know Nostalgia

Hear the surreal and peculiar reality of women patients from 1900-1910.

Now called the Oregon State Hospital, Oregon's first official state insane asylum opened in Salem in 1883. This talk explores the lives of some of the women who called the asylum home between 1900 and 1910. Case studies of individual female patients reveal how mental illness was diagnosed and treated during the turn of the century and what institutional life was like for women at the Oregon State Insane Asylum. The case studies also illuminate the way in which political, social, and cultural values were reflected in the diagnosis of insanity as well as the pitfalls of the large-scale asylum model that was, at the time, the foundation of nationwide mental health treatment.

Rebekah Averette is the collections manager for the Deschutes County Museum. A native Oregonian, Rebekah spent most of her life in the Portland area before moving to Bend in 2017. She studied History and German at the University of Oregon, served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Ukraine, and received an MA in Teaching at the University of Washington. After teaching for many years, Rebekah decided to pursue a career in public history. She recently completed her Masters in History at Portland State University with a focus on women's history in Progressive Era Oregon. In her spare time, Rebekah loves exploring the outdoors, reading historical fiction, trying out (with varied success) recipes from historic cookbooks, and gazing at her cat.

Questions? Contact beccar@dpls.lib.or.us, 541-312-1063