Hastings

The 1940 federal census in Adams, Nebraska was enumerated 81 years ago this month, April 18, 1940.  It showed where my great-grandmother had been living for about 10 years already.  She was sadly referred to as an "inmate" at a place called Hastings State Hospital.

Family member name: Martha E. Goesch Sullivan
Years of life: 1900-1976

Places lived: Nebraska

Tree branch: Goesch
Relation: My great-grandmother (my mom's mom's mom)

See the red underlined row.  Sullivan, Martha | Inmate

This post is about Hastings.  Hastings was originally built in 1889 to house the "incurably insane," which is so sad if my great-grandmother had that diagnosis.  In an upcoming post we will talk about her and her illness.

Where is Hastings State Hospital?  It's in the middle of the country.  However, this part of Nebraska is only about 45 minutes from where Martha was born and less than two hours from where she was raising her three children in Lincoln.  This is what Hastings looked like. 

My great-grandma lived at this hospital in Nebraska for most of her life.

The patients were trained to care for themselves and their surroundings.  Also, Hastings was designed to be self-sufficient in terms of food.  It had surrounding farms with all kinds of animals and livestock for the patients and staff to eat.

Early attempts to treat the mentally ill began in the 1920s.  But the 1950s saw breakthroughs in treatment with psychiatric drugs and rehabilitation therapies.

Hastings State Hospital was my great-grandmother's home for most of her life.  I can only hope that her life there had bright spots.  Perhaps the inside and gardens were pleasant.  

Had I known this information about my great-grandma, I definitely would have stopped by Hastings on our cross-country drive in 1999 just to see the outside of the buildings.  Hastings is right off of Route 80, which is the route we took at that time.  However, we wouldn't be able to stop by now because after 131 years, Hastings was torn down in 2020.

Sources:

1940 US Federal Census - Adams, Nebraska

Asylum Projects - Hastings State Hospital