|
a.
|
Note: Article from SESQUICENTENNIAL FAYETTE COUNTY BROADCASTER - Vol# 1 Fayette County, Alabama History - page # 16 - Published September 1969
"When the Southern Railroad was built through Fayette County, a water tomb was built beside the railroad near a little stream, eight miles southwest of Fayette. This station was called Mulberry Tank. At this time there was a Post Office about two-miles southeast of Mulberry Tank called Belk. About 1901 the Post Office department decided to move the Post Office to the Railroad Station. As a result the place was known as Belk. Mack Smith was the Postmaster before the office was moved to the present location."
Written by Berta W. Smith, Mayor of Belk, Alabama ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1920 FEDERAL CENSUS FOR FAYETTE COUNTY ALABAMA � PRECINCT #10 � LEE (BELK) Series: T625 Roll: 16 Page: 113 FAMILY#46 � DWELLING#46 A. MACK SMITH � HEAD � MALE � WHITE � 62 � MARRIED M. JENNIE SMITH � WIFE � FEMALE � WHITE � 45 � MARRIED EDNA R.SMITH - DAUGHTER � FEMALE � WHITE � 24 - SINGLE WILMER M. SMITH � DAUGHTER � FEMALE � WHITE � 20 � SINGLE ZETTA A. SMITH � DAUGHTER � FEMALE � WHITE � 16 � SINGLE EUGENE U. SMITH � SON � MALE � WHITE � 13 � SINGLE ETHEL SMITH � DAUGHTER � FEMALE � 11 � SINGLE LODINE SMITH � DAUGHTER � FEMALE � 6 � SINGLE
CENSUS SAYS ALFRED BORN IN ALA WHICH IS INCORRECT CENSUS SAYS JENNIE�S MOTHER BORN IN AL AND HER FATHER BORN IN NC ALL CHILDREN BORN IN ALA **Note: I am trying to keep the spelling of names as the enumerator did. SOURCE: HERITAGE QUEST � ONLINE � INTERNET SEARCH 7/25/07
1920 FEDERAL CENSUS FOR FAYETTE COUNTY ALABAMA � PRECINCT #10 � LEE (BELK) Series: T625 Roll: 16 Page: 111 FAMILY#12 � DWELLING#12 WINFORD A. SMITH � HEAD � MALE � WHITE � 22 � MARRIED � BORN IN AL BESSIE SMITH � WIFE � FEMALE � WHITE � 18 � MARRIED � BORN IN AL MABEN ADRELE � DAUGHTER � WHITE � ( CANT MAKE OUT AGE ? ) ( ?mos ) BORN IN AL **Note: I am trying to keep the spelling of names as the enumerator did. SOURCE: HERITAGE QUEST � ONLINE � INTERNET SEARCH 7/25/07 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Alabama Insane Hospitals _________ Instructions On Bringing A Patient To The Hospital ____________ No patient can be received without a legal certificate from the Probate Judge. Let the patient whom you bring, distictly know where he (or she) is going. A patient seldom forgets being deceived in that particular; and its affects many injuriously, when they hold it as a grievance afterwards. The Probate Judge, if he sees proper, can deputize any relative to accompnay a lady patient, if possible. In some cases, the presence and control of a stranger - an officer of the law - acts injuriously. Furnish the patient with a sufficiency of comfortable clothing. With many, to wear good clothing of their own, tends to their self-respect and satisfaction - and to receive articles of clothing, as well as other remembrances from home, is a matter of pleasure. Lists of clothing need will be sent from time to time during the year to the family. All persons are supposed by law, to be able to pay for their board a attention at the Hospital. The Probate Judge of the County where the patient resides determines whether the are not able to pay and issues certificates accordingly. The regular charges are SIXTY DOLLARS A QUARTER (Sixty is crossed through and 75 is written above it) in adavance, which covers board and all Hospital expenses. The patients are not allowed to have articles of value, such as jewelry, money, watches, ect., on the wards, nor articles of danger, such as knives, matches, scissors, ect. They ought not bring such things with them. The answers to interrogatories on an accompanying sheet, relating to family and personal history, are very important. They ought to be made fully and honestly, giving as much information as possible. They are of great value to the physicians in making a correct opinion of the patient. The Bryce Hospital is three miles from the depots in Tuscaloosa. The street cars meet all day trains; automobiles and hacks meet them day and night. Contrct with the driver before entering his conveyance. The Mt. Vernon Hospital is one-fourth of a mile from the depot. The trip, if possible, ought to be arranged so as to reach the Hospital DURING THE DAY. There is an extra charge for a vehicle at night, which often causes annoyance and imposition; besides, the patient generally comes more willingly and in better shape during the day and necessary routine of receiving and assigning him is more conveniently and satisfactorily done. SOURCE: http://www.rootsweb.com/~asylums/bryce_al/instruc.txt ( 7/30/07 EAF ) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bryce Hospital for the Insane Tuscaloosa, Alabama Peter Bryce (1834-1892) laid the groundwork for the care of the mentally ill in Alabama, not by the mere holding of a position, but by his own sensitive, patient nature and by the inauguration of treatment methods that mark him as a pioneer in psychiatry.
Bryce, a native of South Carolina, was elected superintendent of the newly created, not yet completed, Alabama Insane Hospital in 1860, when he was only 26 years old. He gave the remaining 32 years of his life to the hospital that now bears his name. The idea of "moral treatment" of the insane, discarding the use of shackles, jackets and other medical restraints was 70 years old but still virtually unknown in this country when the first person was admitted by Bryce in 1861. The young physician enforced strict discipline among his attendants, requiring nothing short of absolute courtesy, kindness and respect toward the patients. This conscientious nursing bore fruit in the form of warm relationships and by 1882 a policy of absolute non-restraint could be initiated. Bryce set up programs of work - farming, sewing, maintenance - and of amusement for his patients; programs valuable both as therapy and as a means of making ends meet. The very survival of the hospital during its early years, when the state's interest and finances were directed to other needs, must be listed as one of the superintendent's greatest accomplishments.
Bryce created a mental institution recognized as one of the best managed in the country. An understatement, but nonetheless true, is Bryce's own assessment, written just before his death: "I feel that I have done my work, and hope, without selfpraise, to be permitted to say I have done it well."
- from the Alabama Hall of Fame, 1968, "ASC Archives" SOURCE: http://72.14.209.104/search?q=cache:Z4j_qEIorwoJ:www.rootsweb.com/~asylums/bryce_al/+BRYCE+HOSPITAL&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=3&gl=us ( EAF 7/30/07 ) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BRYCE HOSPITAL
TUSCALOOSA
THREAT: Physical Deterioration, Lack of Funding
TUSCALOOSA'S BRYCE HOSPITAL, constructed between 1853 and 1861, was the first institutional building dedicated solely to the care of the mentally ill in the state of Alabama. A rather elongated, three-story, masonry structure with Italianate details and a Roman Revival portico, the hospital is characterized by three progressively setback wings flanking each side of the central pavilion. Its design, the then-unique linear plan, was the result of architect Samuel Sloan's collaboration with Dr. Thomas Kirkbride, a leading physician in mental health care. Kirkbride sought to express in concrete form the current philosophy of moral treatment. More so than other hospitals using Kirkbride's ideas, Bryce Hospital retained many features of the plan and, therefore, was the leader among the Kirkbride linear plan hospitals. Today, it is the oldest and most intact Kirkbride hospital in existence. In 1995, unable to meet federal regulations for patient care, the Department of Mental Health removed patients from Bryce Hospital. Meanwhile, budgetary constraints and revenue shortfalls forced the State of Alabama to defer maintenance on the building, leading to the failure of the roof system.
Abandoned for many years now, the Lodge, another historic building on the Bryce campus, is threatened because of its partially collapsed roof. Constructed in 1878 for coal storage and later used as housing for African American male patients, the Lodge once displayed a tin mansard roof, floors laid with narrow oak boards, and plastered walls and ceilings. Delicate wooden trim, made by Bryce patients, is seen around the doors and windows and along the staircase.
The Alabama Historical Commission has applied for federal grants to fund preservation efforts and is working on a nomination for National Historic Landmark status for the historic core of the Bryce campus. However, these endeavors take time; true rehabilitation of Bryce will necessitate a public-private partnership.
SOURCE: http://72.14.209.104/search?q=cache:cGw6zzmvIiQJ:findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa4113/is_200310/ai_n9255667+BRYCE+HOSPITAL&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=9&gl=us ( EAF 7/30/07 ) -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bryce Hospital's Psychopathic Building
Dilapated 2-story building with basement. Crazy layout--some stairways only went up, others only went down.... mazelike inside. Some locations had bars, others seemed normal (non-mental hospital). Parts of it were used for storage of University equipment & records, although it appears most of this was hauled off in the garbage when the building was torn down.
It was basically a square building, with a courtyard in the middle. But it also had a wing that went off the back.
All the porches had bars to keep patients in.
In one place, the roof had collapsed and the entire 2nd story was gone, although the 1st floor was still passable. One place had a floor that looked kind of weak; so we tossed a small chair out into the middle of the room, and it fell partway through the floor!!!!---needless to say, we didn't go in that room.
There was one elevator in the building, you could see the shaft on the outside--it had been added in one of the additions. But we never got to it; it was locked off. It was an amazing building. From the outside, it looked rather small, and two stories. Well, it was 2 stories, with a basement and some partial tunnels & crawls spaces.
There was a huge courtyard in the middle of the building, add the fact that it hadn't been maintained for 20 or 30 years, and it was like a jungle... or enchanted forest. Or something. It was pretty bizzare to stand in the middle, with 2 story walls on all sides, and have all those trees & vines....
One small section still exists; I have pictures coming soon... The small section is the University's Architect Office--campus planning, new building design, maintenance planning, construction bids, blueprints, etc... A tiny section of the old part still exists, where the old part of the building touched the newer wing, a little two story bit exists that couldn't be demolished without wrecking the part that still exists... very bizzare; as I said, pics coming.
UPDATE: July 28 2004: I added two new pics of what remains with more pics coming (film is being processed!). �Railtech
don't know a whole lot about it, except that most of it's now torn down; the back of the new Shelby Hall sits where this building once stood. One wing of it still exists; it was an addition to the original building and currently serves as the office for the University Architect.
When built, it was Bryce Hospital's Psychopathic Building. I've heard they used patient labor to build it. At some point--looked to be the 1970s--Bryce stopped using it, except possibly for storage. After a while longer, it was transfered from Bryce to University of Alabama ownership (the two are adjacent and both state agencys). The university used part of it for storage, part of it for the University's Architecture Office (the newest part, an addition), and part of it was empty, with at least one section having a collapsed roof. Oh, one part was used by University electricians as a supply storage area (wire, lights, etc).
The giant stones that has the words "Psychopathic Building" and the state seal carved in them were given to the Art Department of the University when the building was demolished.
The building was apparently full of asbestos. Oops. The future is now. The building has been demolished, to make way for Senator Shelby's Shelby Hall. (He's still alive). Oddly, plans to demolish the building were drawn up in the building!!! This is because the University Architect's office WAS IN THE BUILDING!!!
Correction: The University Architect's office still exists; this one wing was NOT demolished, and is still standing.
There are a few other old Bryce Hospital buildings that have been converted to University use. Additionally, there are a lot of Bryce buildings that are disused (and many still used) in the area. Bryce Hospital is the State of Alabama's mental/psychatric hospital. Formerly called Alabama Insane Hospital (AIH) and analagous to the famous Danvers State Hospital. SOURCE: http://www.uer.ca/locations/viewstory.asp?storyid=10772 ( EAF 7/30/07 ) -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
