Mendocino State Asylum for the Insane
best facilities in California. The Hospital was established in Talmage in 1889.
The first patients were transferred from facilities in Stockton and Napa.
The Great Depression caused a lot of people to suffer nervous breakdowns
and by 1932 the hospital population greatly increased, to 1,900 patients. By
1935 the number had risen to 2,600.
It was in 1955 that the Hosptial reached its peak with over 3,000 patients. It
took over 700 staff to run the Hospital to the standards of the day.
It was also around this time that the criminally insane were transferred to the
facility in Atascadero. By 1966 the number of patients was once again under
1,800.
The original main building was constructed in 1893. It was the most heavily
damaged building in the Ukiah Valley from the 1906 San Francisco
Earthquake. It was rebuilt and the tower was lowered (see photos). With
modern buildings being constructed (which survive to this day) the main
building was demolished in 1952.
In the 1970s Governor Ronald Reagan, to lower the State budget, decided
to close many of the State Hospital. Mendocino was on the list. By 1972 the
Hospital was closed and the patients that were not able to be released into
the community were transferred to other facilities.
In the late 1970s, after being turned down as a possible site for Mendocino
College, the property was sold and became the City of 10,000 Buddhas.
Mendocino State Hospital housed people with sever mental health issues and
drug and alcohol addictions. Treatments included medications, shock
treatment, and lobotomies. A lot has been learned about the causes of mental
health issues over the past few decades and treatments have become more
humane. Lobotomies are no longer performed. A new form of shock
treatment, with lower doses of electricity, has proven successful and
medications have been greatly improved.
It has been discovered that mental health issues are caused by a number of
different factors. The main cause of mental health issues has to do with
genetics. Issues such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Reactive
Attachment Disorder are caused by events in peoples lives. There is also
growing evidence that environmental factors and cause people to develop
mental health issues.
The lives of people with mental health issues has greatly improved. There was
a time when most people with mental health issues were forced into facilities
such as Mendocino State Hospital. Now most people live happy, healthy
lives in communities such as Ukiah. With therapy and medication
managements, most people able to get control of their issues and become
active members of their communities.
