Canton Asylum

Typical Newspaper Ad

Medical ads in the early 1900s were imaginative, and sometimes a bit deceptive. Many were disguised as news articles that led readers to think they were getting a legitimate story, only to discover that a medical “cure” was at the heart of the piece. One story in The Sioux Valley News (Canton’s weekly paper) for October 15, 1909, began with the headline: “So Deceptive” with the additional blurb: Many Canton People Fail to Realize the Seriousness.” Of course, readers would worry that something was going on in Canton that they should know about. In this case, the point came quickly. “Backache is so deceptive. It comes and goes and keeps you guessing. Learn the cause–then cure it. Nine times out of ten it comes from the kidneys. That’s why Doan’s Kidney Pills cure it.” The story then gave a testimonial from a carpenter in Canton, with name and address included.

A headline on July 1, 1910 was: “A Frightful Wreck.” The reader then discovered that train, automobile, and buggy wrecks could cause “cuts, bruises, abrasions, sprains or wounds that demand Bucklen’s Arnica Salve.” Another story in The Sioux Valley News in November of that year is difficult to analyze. It begins as a piece about two prominent doctors whose expertise in the treatment of all chronic diseases had been so great and wonderful that “it is hard indeed to find the dividing line between skill and miracle.” They were the first doctors in America to do away with “knife, with blood and with all pain in the successful treatment and cure” of diseases like appendicitis, gallstones, tumors, goiters, and cancer. Readers were invited to see these two physicians, for free this time, while they were in town.

Ads Were Urgent and Emotional

Health Ad

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Attendants at Central Islip Psychiatric Hospital, 1910, courtesy Minnesota Governor's Council on Developmental Disabilities

Insane asylums were important to local economies. Local men were needed for construction work or repairs, and businesses could count on meeting at least some of an asylum’s supply needs. Perhaps more importantly, insane asylums provided steady work for locals. From 1900 to 1907, the Canton Asylum for Insane Indians spent $54,896.78 on maintenance, some of which found its way into local pockets. It spent almost as much on wages, though–which was probably far more important. The payroll went from a bare $2,080 at the end of 1902 to $11,340 by 1907.

The first salary list included: a superintendent and assistant superintendent, a financial clerk, an attendant, three laborers, and a night watch (8 total). By 1909, the list included: a superintendent and assistant superintendent, clerk, matron, seamstress, laundress, cook, dining room girl, engineer, two male and two female attendants, three laborers, a night watchman, and a laborer (18 total). As buildings and the patient population went up, the asylum pumped more and more money into Canton and the surrounding area. It’s little wonder that the townspeople had a soft spot in their hearts for the facility and considered it a valuable resource.

Graduation Class of Nurses at Utica State Insane Asylum, 1899, courtesy Minnesota Governor's Council on Developmental Disabilities

Woman Attendants With Dumb Bells at the Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane, early 1860s, courtesy Minnesota Governor's Council on Developmental Disabilities

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Portion of Building and Grounds of Insane Asylum in Lexington, courtesy University of Kentucky

Insane asylums provided regular payrolls to local economies, and often needed additional labor for special projects. As a government facility, the Canton Asylum for Insane Indians had to bid out almost all its work and supply needs, but that did not mean that the city of Canton did not enjoy the benefits of those projects. Available records do not show who actually performed all the labor associated with the asylum’s projects, but it is likely that any construction company ended up using local labor for some of its work.

The asylum’s original buildings included the main building, a pump and power house, a horse barn and a cow barn. No specific mention is made beyond “small outbuildings,” but the facility probably included a number of small sheds and storage buildings as well. In December, 1907, Gifford paid a carpenter $3/day for six days, to repair wind damage to a horse barn, cow barn, and carriage house; this would amount to about $431 today. Just a month later, he spent $75 to install window guards on the windows of patient wards, about $1,830 today. From 1900 to 1907, the government spent $80,882.03 on buildings and similar hard structures (versus maintenance)–$1,460,000 in today’s dollars.

As more patients were added, more buildings were needed and constructed. Ironically, each of the two superintendents who ran Canton Asylum wanted special buildings which they never received. Gifford particularly wished to separate noisy and violent patients from quieter ones, feeling that housing them together was bound to be excessively irritating for his quiet patients. Dr. Hummer wanted a separate epileptic cottage.

New Orleans Insane Asylum

Broughton Hospital, North Carolina

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Canton Asylum for Insane Indians

One institution that Canton’s “boosters” hoped would put the town on the map was the Canton Asylum for Insane Indians, which was usually called Hiawatha or Hiawatha Asylum by locals. Large asylums for the mentally ill were still the norm across the country, and Hiawatha’s unique patient population seemed to promise renown. Alienists (mental health experts) tended to be very forceful and positive about their field of study, and were eager to add to their knowledge. Town leaders hoped that specialists would come to Canton to study the Indians there, or even conduct their own research.

The facility was smaller than most asylums, but still impressive. It was shaped like a cross, 184 feet long and 144 feet wide, with jasper granite foundations. The outside was of pressed brick with white stone trim on the windows and doors, and inside, a cement-floored basement ran across the entire floorprint. The building had over 100 light fixtures, as well as radiator heat and a modern sewage system. There were also tiled bathrooms and water closets which used range toilets. (This was a unified system which shared a common pipe–toilets flushed at intervals rather than after each use.) Hundreds of trees and bushes were planted on the facility’s acreage, and except for the seven-foot fence around the grounds, nothing indicated that it was a type of prison. Especially for a rural area, Canton’s asylum was a noteworthy structure.

One of the primary reasons the town fought the asylum’s closing was because of the blow it meant to Canton’s economy. During the Depression, the asylum was a reliable source of jobs, and could pay real money for the goods and services it procured. Except for a few local asylum opponents, no one wanted to see the institution shut down.

Center Building, St. Elizabeths, Another Government Insane Asylum

Colorado Insane Asylum, circa 1890

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In 1903, the people of Canton, South Dakota must have felt that all their efforts were paying off in a big way. The town had grown rapidly–schools, churches, and businesses were filling streets and buildings with needed services, and proving that the West could truly be settled. Two facilities in particular seemed to point the way to a bright future.

Augustana College

Augustana College had relocated from nearby Beloit, Iowa to Canton in 1884. After a rocky start, the college doubled attendance during the 1890s, and in 1902 moved to a new campus on the edge of town. In a show of true “booster” spirit, the people of Canton pledged to raise one dollar for every two that the college’s church sponsors provided. In 1903, the town could take pride in a beautiful four-story granite building. The college included a chapel that could seat 500, as well as a dormitory and gymnasium for the 200-300 students who attended each year.

Besides its educational attractions, the college also provided an economic boost to the town. Students who couldn’t find space in the school’s dormitory rented rooms from Canton’s residents, and of course, bought food, clothing, and other supplies from local merchants. The college hosted academic events that included well-known speakers, in addition to its religious gatherings. Local hotels hosted some of these gatherings in their banquet rooms, and again, local businesses provided many of the required supplies and labor.

My next post will describe another of Canton’s economic cornerstones.

First Country School, Tripp County, South Dakota, early 1900, courtesy Library of Congress

Another Contrast, An Early Sod Home Near Meadow, South Dakota, courtesy Library of Congress

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Oscar Sherman Gifford

Though it would be impossible to name all the prominent citizens who supported the Canton Asylum for Insane Indians at at the turn of the century, a few stand out. Among the town’s early professionals was Oscar Sherman Gifford. Settling in Lincoln County in 1871 after passing the bar, Gifford was a practicing attorney, district attorney, merchant, and surveyor before he established a law office with partner Mark Bailey in 1875. Gifford became a Territorial delegate, Canton’s mayor in 1881 and 1882, and South Dakota’s Congressional representative in 1889. Gifford wholeheartedly supported Senator Richard F. Pettigrew’s efforts in 1898 to open an insane asylum for Indians, and pushed to have it located in Canton. When the facility opened its doors, Gifford became its first superintendent.

Newman C. Nash, his son, George, and S. B. Averill, were also stalwart supporters of the asylum. The elder Nash edited the town’s weekly (Friday) newspaper, The Sioux Valley News until his death. A New York state native, Nash served during the Civil War and then located to Wisconsin. Like Gifford, he arrived in Lincoln County in 1871; unlike Gifford, he moved west to settle a 160-acre homestead claim. Nash moved to Canton in 1876, bought a half partnership in The Sioux Valley News, and then became its sole proprietor in April, 1877. He was an enthusiastic “booster” during his time as editor, and grew his newspaper to an impressive circulation of 1,400 by 1904. After his father’s death in 1905, George Nash owned the paper only until 1912; however, he sold it to another enthusiastic asylum booster. All three men steadfastly maintained that the asylum was a wonderful institution, and Averill angrily opposed its final investigation and closure.

Senator Richard F. Pettigrew

1904 Issue of Sioux Valley News

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Railroad Depot in Canton

Canton played an early role in South Dakota’s history (see last post), and was full of people who wanted to see it grow. The town set up a school almost as soon as the citizens began building log homes (1868), and shortly thereafter established businesses like the Elkhorn Tavern, a general store and community building, and a post office. A town newspaper, The Sioux Valley News began publication in 1872; as families filtered in, the town required a blacksmith shop, restaurant, dry goods store, grocery store, and other typical amenities needed in any settled town. A wide-flung business district developed, and by the late 1870s, Canton had a thriving social and business scene.

When a railroad junction (the Milwaukee McGregor line) came to Canton in 1879, citizens were delighted. The line gave the town direct service to Chicago, and the promise of bigger and better things to come. That year, the town had 71 buildings; three years later, it had 236. A year after that, Augustana College moved from the nearby town of Beloit to Canton. Teddy Roosevelt stopped in Canton in 1900, and on the last day of 1902, the Canton Asylum for Insane Indians opened. The asylum staff gathered at the train station to meet the first patient, and Canton’s residents were sure that the unique facility would bring the whole town fame.

Augustana College

Canton High School, 1906

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A Trapper's Shack

Almost as soon as Congress created Dakota Territory  (see last post), its new territorial legislature began establishing counties. The legislature established Lincoln County during its first session in 1862. Only two signs of white civilization marked Lincoln County at this early date: a road crossing its northeast corner, and a small shanty on the Sioux River. The shanty had been built by trappers Dutch Charley, Bill Tunis, Old Ross, and his two sons, between Beaver Creek and the Sioux River. This small dwelling was an ideal place to capture game, and gave the area its first name, Trapper Shanty. For several years, this shanty was the only structure in Lincoln County, and became popular with travelers between Sioux City and Fort Dakota. Later, the area around Trapper Shanty became Canton, South Dakota, which eventually won the site selection for the government’s asylum for insane Indians.

The people of Canton, South Dakota had always dreamed big. Another old name for the town was Commerce City, though it was never an official one. Land speculators (circa 1850s) mapped the area and created the town there, but Commerce City doesn’t seem to have existed in any legal sense. Canton was also known as Gate City, capitalizing on the idea that it was a gateway into Dakota Territory. It may have seemed so in its early days, and my next post will discuss some of Canton’s nineteenth-century history.

Representative Traps and Trapper

Trapper Making a Bear Set

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Poster Encouraging Westward Migration

Huge changes took place in the American West during the 1800s. The pre-Revolution colonies were supposed to abide by the Royal Proclamation of 1763, which forbade them to move westward past a certain point (called the Proclamation Line) extending from Quebec to West Florida. Colonists resented the restriction and often didn’t obey it, and the Proclamation merely fueled growing aggravations between England and the colonies. Once the American Revolution and the Louisiana Purchase (1803) gave colonists both freedom and land, westward expansion began in earnest.

The new country’s own Preemption Act of 1841 allowed squatters on federal land (particularly in Kansas and Nebraska Territories) to buy 160 acres for $200, and then preserve their ownership of the land by making minimal improvements to it or residing on it for about 14 months. Heads of households, citizens or people intending to become naturalized, and single men, could take advantage of this Act. Eastern states tended to oppose the Act because they were afraid their populations would migrate and cause a labor shortage, but were placated when the government agreed to distribute some of the sales money. Later, the Homestead Act (1862) made property acquisition even easier. The Homestead Act allowed any adult citizen or intended citizen, who had never borne arms against the U.S. government, to claim 160 acres of surveyed government land. All a claimant had to do to attain ownership of the acreage was to improve the plot by building a home of some kind on it, and cultivate the land. After 5 years on the land, the original filer was entitled to the property, free and clear, except for a small registration fee. The Act originated during the Civil War, and afterward, Union soldiers could deduct the time they had served from the residency requirements.

The ease of attaining land made westward expansion very attractive, and huge chunks of land were appropriated from Native Americans for use by white settlers. My next post will discuss the settlement of South Dakota, where the Canton Asylum for Insane Indians was located.

Proclamation Line of 1763

An Acceptable Dwelling Under the Homestead Act

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Court House, Canton, South Dokata

Despite his stated desire to save the Indian Office money (see last post), Dr. Harry Hummer was desperately anxious to increase the size of the Canton Asylum for Insane Indians. Though he had a hard time justifying any great expansion due to a long waiting list of insane Indians, he was on firmer ground in trying to buy more land for the cattle and swine the asylum raised. He asked Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Charles Burke, for additional acreage as soon as Burke took office. As always, Hummer mentioned that there was a waiting list of 15 to 20 patients that could not be admitted due to lack of space. And, as always, the Commissioner replied that the Indian Office did not wish to increase the capacity of the asylum.

Hummer knew how important the asylum was to the Canton community, and did not hesitate to play politics. Within just a few days of Burke’s refusal, Canton’s Martin C. Ellingson Post of the American Legion wrote to Senator Peter Norbeck about the issue. Post commander S. A. Amundson said: “Our attention has been directed to the necessity of the purchase of additional land absolutely essential for the expansion of the Asylum for insane Indians located at Canton, South Dakota. After due investigation the committee is convinced that  . . . the purchase of additional land is absolutely imperative.”

Senator Peter Norbeck, courtesy Biographical Directory of the United States Congress

In his letter, Amundson reminded Norbeck that the post represented “two hundred of the best business and professional citizens of our community” and that they earnestly solicited “your hearty co-operation in securing for this institution, the purchase of additional land, so necessary for its expansion and maintenance.”

1910 Flooding in Canton, South Dakota

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