Anoka State Hospital Traditional Cache

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Hidden : 10/18/2011
Difficulty:
2 out of 5
Terrain:
2.5 out of 5

Size: Size: micro (micro)

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Geocache Description:


A cache located near the Anoka-Metro Regional Treatment Center.

A little history of the site:


The Hospital
Anoka-Metro Regional Treatment Center is the current name of what was originally the First State Asylum for the Insane (1900-1919), Anoka State Asylum (1919-1937), and Anoka State Hospital (1937-1985). Opening in 1900, the hospital was originally serving as a transfer asylum, admitted patients who were transferred from the states receiving hospitals. In 1951, it, too, became a receiving hospital. The first residents, 100 male patients, came from St. Peter State Hospital and were considered to be "chronic, incurables." By 1906, 115 female patients had been transferred to the hospital from the facility in St. Peter. In 1909, it was decided that Anoka would admit only female transfer patients and that the state hospital in Hastings would admit the male transfer patients. However, construction of an additional building in 1925 allowed the hospital once again to admit male patients. The hospital now administers programs for the treatment of mentally ill adults from Anoka, Hennepin, Sherburne, and Ramsey counties, and treats chemically dependent adults from Sherburne, Anoka, and Hennepin counties. An infirmary and clinic are provided for the physical health care of all residents at the hospital. Any previous programs, a treatment center for the mentally ill with tuberculosis (1948-1967) as well as programs for emotionally disturbed children and adolescents (1970s), have been discontinued.

The Farmstead
In the summer of 1900, the farmstead at the Anoka Asylum consisted of two barns, a few granaries, machine sheds and outbuildings. Eventually the farm was expanded and included 1,000 chickens, 200 turkeys, 200 hogs, 6 teams of horses and 100 Holstein cows. The cattle were well known at regional State Fairs as a prize dairy herd.

Vegetables from the farm were canned, and jams and jellies were preserved for use year-round. Homemade butter and ice cream were readily available to patients and staff.

Farm chores kept the patients busy and encouraged them to take pride in their work. The cottage housing plan gave patients a sense of family, and their work on the farm gave them a sense of community. It was thought that this would calm a troubled mind and make the patients more comfortable at their new home in Anoka.

The Auditorium
The Auditorium at the Anoka Asylum was built in 1917 for $85,000. When it was built, the Auditorium could seat 900 patients, was equipped with a state-of-the-art motion picture machine, a large stage and an excellent floor for dancing.



The basement consisted of dressing rooms, a lounge and a chapel. There was also room for a bowling alley. Today, the Auditorium sits empty.

The Cemetery
The influenza epidemic of 1920 claimed the lives of about 150 patients at the Anoka Asylum. The patients families were contacted to claim their loved one's remains for burial. If the family was unable or unwilling to arrange for a burial at a cemetery of the family's choosing, the patient would be buried at the cemetery on the grounds of the Asylum.

This cemetery was recently improved and now includes a headstone with the patient's name along with the original marker which often only had a number that coincided with hospital records.

About 400 patients were buried at this cemetery between 1901 and 1965.
The cemetery is located approximately 1/4 mile north northeast of here. It is just to the south of the Anoka High School parking lot.

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