| Fairview Training Center | |
| Org/Group: | State of Oregon |
| Location: | Salem |
| State: | Oregon |
| Country: | US |
| Coordinates: | [1] |
| Healthcare: | Public |
| Type: | Psychiatric hospital |
| Founded: | 1907 |
| Closed: | March 01, 2000 |
| Website: | None |
| Wiki-Links: | Oregon State Hospital |
The Fairview Training Center was a state-run facility for people with developmental disabilities in Salem, Oregon, United States. Fairview was established in 1907 as the State Institution for the Feeble-Minded. The hospital opened on December 1, 1908, with 39 patients transferred from the Oregon State Hospital for the Insane.[2] Before its closure in 2000, Fairview was administered by the Oregon Department of Human Services (DHS).[3] DHS continued to operate the Eastern Oregon State Hospital in Pendleton[4] [5] until October 31, 2009.[6]
In 1907, the Oregon State Institution for the Feeble-Minded was created by the Oregon State Legislature.[7] It was established as a quasi-educational institution charged with educating the "feeble-minded" (today known as people with intellectual disability and various other developmental and learning disabilities) and caring for the "idiotic and epileptic."[7] The facility was overseen by a board of trustees consisting of the Governor, Secretary of State and State Treasurer.[7] Construction had progressed enough by 1908 that the first patients were transferred from the Oregon State Insane Asylum (now the Oregon State Hospital).[7] They resided on a 670acres compound consisting of an administration building (LeBreton Cottage),[8] a dormitory, a laundry and boiler house.[7] By 1913, two more cottages were constructed and the board of trustees was replaced by the Oregon State Board of Control.[7]
In 1917, a commitment law was passed that was to standardize admissions to the institution by insuring that valuable space was used for the "feeble-minded" and not for the "insane".[7] It also imposed an age limit on admissions to people five years of age and older.[7] The age limit was removed in 1921.[7]
The institution had a working farm that provided both food and training for its residents.[7] By 1920, most of the land to be used for farming had been cleared.[7] were planted in crops and in orchards.[7] The farm also raised hogs, chickens, and dairy and beef cattle.[7]
In 1923, the legislature established the Oregon Board of Eugenics, and Fairview's superintendent served as an ex-officio board member.[7] The eugenics legislation provided for the "sterilization of all feeble-minded, insane, epileptics, habitual criminals, moral degenerates, and sexual perverts who are a menace to society."[7] Sterilizations required either the person's consent or a court order.[7] By 1929, 300 residents had been sterilized.[7]
Two types of parole for residents were established in 1931: home parole and industrial parole.[7] Requirements for parole included a surety bond filed by the parolee's guardian or overseer, who had to have a net worth of at least $1000 and have lived in the state for at least six months, the parolee had to be sterilized, and the home or workplace had to be inspected.[7] Two-thirds of residents who had been sterilized were paroled, which freed up beds for new patients.[7]
In 1933 the facility was renamed Oregon Fairview Home.[7]
Changes in care and additions to the facility continued through the 1940s-1960s, and improvements were made to the medical care and nutrition of the residents.[7]
In 1965, Oregon Fairview Home was renamed Fairview Hospital and Training Center.[7]
In the late 1960s, the orchard, raising of beef, and general farm activities were eliminated.[7] The raising of hogs was eliminated in 1975 and poultry processing ended in 1977.[7] These activities had formerly provided all the ham, bacon, sausage, eggs, broiler chickens, and pork chops used by Fairview.[7]
In 1969, the Board of Control was dissolved and the Mental Health Division placed under the newly created Executive Department of the state government.[7]
In 1979, the facility changed its name from Fairview Hospital and Training Center to Fairview Training Center.[7]
Fairview was closed on March 1, 2000.[7]
A group known as Sustainable Fairview Associates purchased of the former Fairview grounds in 2002.[9] The land included several historic buildings.[10]
In 2004, Sustainable Fairview Associates sold of their holdings to Sustainable Development Inc. for building Pringle Creek Community, a sustainable housing development.[10] [11]
Pierce Cottage, one of several buildings remaining on the former Fairview site, was gutted by a fire of suspicious origin in January 2010.[12] [13] The building was one of 50 at the site previously slated for demolition and recycling.[14] Two men were charged with arson in connection with the fire the next month. All remaining cottages were demolished in 2016.[15]
The cottages on the grounds housed both staff and patients. Some of the structures were named after Oregon governors, including:
Young woman who disappeared from Fairview featured on the show Cold Case Files.