Northern State Hospital

Opened in 1912 and designed by the well-known architect, Frederick Olmstead, Northern State Mental Hospital was originally a self-sufficient institution with a farm and cannery to support its operations. The hospital is in the shadow of the Cascades and was a very beautiful place. The hospital was closed in 1973 but many of the main buildings are still used for other purposes. The farm, however, has fallen into decay and is now part of a state recreation area and open to the public. We visited there last October and walked the area of the old farm. These are some of the barns that were part of the hospital's dairy.