Dammasch State Hospital Explained

Dammasch State Hospital
Location:	Wilsonville
Region:	Clackamas County
State:	Oregon
Country:	US
Coordinates:	45.3121°N -122.7943°W
Type:	Psychiatric hospital
Founded:	1961
Closed:	1995

Dammasch State Hospital was a mental hospital, asylum, and educational center located in Wilsonville, Oregon, United States. Named for Dr. Ferdinand H. Dammasch, the hospital opened in 1961 and closed in 1995. After its closure, the former site was embroiled in local controversy as it was a proposed location for a women's prison,^[1] which angered local residents as the site is less than a mile from residential neighborhoods. The Dammasch building was demolished, and the Villebois housing development occupies its former site.^[2]

See also

• Callahan Center (later Living Enrichment Center) was contiguous to the hospital site and part of the larger development planning area.

External links

• Smith Eliot's images of Dammasch State Hospital
• Slide show of Dammasch pictures from the Oregon State Archives
• A Dammasch State Hospital tribute website with a collection of images, videos and stories
• John Kloepper's images of Dammasch State Hospital

Notes and References

1. News: Jails of our Lives. Patty. Wentz. Willamette Week. July 29, 1998. 2008-01-26. https://web.archive.org/web/20070929102931/http://www.wweek.com/html/politicsb072998.html. September 29, 2007. dead.
2. News: NATIONAL PERSPECTIVES; Abandoned Hospitals For the Mentally Ill Morph Into Housing. Katie. Zezima. January 15, 2006. The New York Times. 2008-01-26.