Brief History of the Colorado Mental Health Institute
- Museum staff pose by a display model of the frame house built for the Centennial Celebration in 1979. The display was resurrected in 2004 for the open house celebrating the Institute's 125 years of operation. The original building housed the first women patients admitted on October 23, 1879 and was used for other activities after a new building for women was built in 1888.
CMHIP opened on October 23, 1879 as the Colorado State Insane Asylum on 40 acres of land in northwest Pueblo donated by George M. Chilcott, Colorado's first United States senator. The Institute grew from 14 patients to an all-time high of over 6,100 patients by 1961. Like many state psychiatric hospitals at that time, it was a self-contained city, providing all the patients' needs within 300 acres of land on the main grounds and 5,000 acres at the dairy farm. By 2005, however, the patient census declined to less than 450 patients, a result of the development of medications specifically for mental disorders, and a change in the philosophy and treatment of the mentally ill.
Last October, 2006, the Institute celebrated its 127th year of serving the mentally ill population of Colorado. In addition, the Museum celebrated its 21st year!
History Articles
- 1899 Colorado State Insane Asylum Rules and Regulations
- Our State Hospital, an amusing poem by a former employee.
- A Brief History of the Colorado State Hospital Dairy Farm
- Colorado State Hospital Annex: A White Elephant?
More detailed articles regarding the Institute's history will be added to this web site as time allows. However, if you have a particular interest, please contact us at info@cmhipmuseum.org
