Virginia State Colony for Epileptics and Feebleminded
October 30, 2023
The Virginia State Colony for the Epileptics and Feeble Minded was a state run institution for those considered to be “Feeble minded” or those with severe mental impairment. The colony opened in 1910 near Lynchburg, Virginia, in Madison Heights with the goal of isolating those with mental disabilities and other qualities deemed unfit for reproduction away from society.[1] The colony was the home of Carrie Buck, the subject of the landmark Supreme Court case Buck v. Bell.[2]
First opened in 1910 as the Virginia State Epileptic Colony.[3]
The colony was authorized by a 1906 bill written by eugenicist and social welfare advocate Aubrey Strode, in collaboration with eugenicists Albert Priddy and Joseph DeJarnette.[4] The colony received its first patients in 1911 and by the end of the calendar year had more than 150 men who suffered from epilepsy, a condition of social abhorrence.[4] Colonies like the Virginia State Colony had been established in order to separate the disabled from criminal populations, for example, many of the first inhabitants of the Virginia State Colony had previously been housed in prisons and state hospitals.[4] Originally, only men could be patients of the colony, but after roughly one year of operation, superintendent Priddy allowed women into the colony who were diagnosed as feeble-minded.[4][2] In accordance with the change in potential patients, the colony changed from its original name, the Virginia Colony for Epileptics to the Virginia Colony for Epileptics and Feebleminded in 1914.[5]
Dr. Albert Priddy in 1912, photo from Eugenics Archive
Dr. Albert Priddy and Carrie Buckedit
Priddy, a central figure in the legalization of forced sterilization of the mentally feeble was the first superintendent of the colony.[1] Priddy had long been a proponent of sterilization as a potential method for controlling the harm the feeble minded could have on a society.[4][1] Priddy in fact performed roughly 80 sterilizations between 1916 and 1917 and thought that these procedures yielded favorable results.[4]Carrie Buck, a poor, pregnant teenager from a broken home arrived at the Colony on June 4, 1924.[4] Her mother, Emma Buck was already a patient of the colony, thus joining both mother and daughter in the camp.[1] Priddy sought Carrie to be a patient of the camp as a way to showcase eugenic ideas of heredity to support Virginia's sterilization law and eventually move the law all the way up to the supreme court.[6][1] The three generations of the Buck family and Carrie's impending sterilization became the focus of the landmark supreme court case Buck v. Bell. Priddy died before the case reached the Supreme Court, but nonetheless on May 2, 1927, the Supreme Court decided that Virginia's sterilization law was constitutional.[7][8]
Post Buck v. Belledit
Following the decision upholding the constitutionality of Virginia's sterilization law in 1927, sterilizations began to take place at the Virginia Colony itself.[6] Carrie Buck was sterilized on October 19, 1927, and this began a long run of sterilizations at the colony.[4][5] In the six years following the decision in Buck v. Bell, the state of Virginia performed 1,333 sterilizations.[8] The last reported sterilization at the colony occurred in 1956.[5] Shortly after the death of Priddy in 1926, Dr. John Bell took over as superintendent of the Virginia Colony.[9] Under his leadership, the colony not only doubled in size, but increased its educational efforts to aid the feeble-minded population of Virginia.[9] The name was changed to Lynchburg State Colony in 1940, Lynchburg Training School and Hospital in 1954, and since 1983, has been known as the Central Virginia Training Center. The records of Central Virginia Training Center can be found at the Library of Virginia.[10]
Segregationedit
The Virginia State colony was a center for feeble minded whites only. Blacks were not admitted to the colony throughout its early years. However, the state of Virginia in 1939 created the Petersburg Colony for the care of blacks who were deemed either “insane” or “feebleminded.”[11] The poorly-funded colony was a work camp for its 182 patients who were deemed as having “borderline intelligence.”[12][13]
Contemporary usageedit
The institution remained integral in the treatment of those with mental disabilities in the State of Virginia. In 1983, the facility was renamed to the Central Virginia Training Center.[14] The institution's mission statement emphasized, "The Central Virginia Training Center is committed to providing effective, compassionate and individually responsive services to persons with intellectual disabilities...empowering safe, healthy and enriched lives for the individuals in our care."[15] Additionally, the facility functioned as an assisted living center and held classes for some of its patients with the hope of eventual community placement.[2]
Investigation into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Actedit
Starting in 2008, the United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division launched an investigation into the quality of CVTC and three other state-run care facilities throughout Virginia. The investigation lasted three years, and found multiple inadequacies in the care of disabled persons within CVTC, including the failure to develop a sufficient quantity of community-based alternatives for individuals with complex needs, improper allocation of funds for community-based programs, and a flawed discharge program which did not sufficiently prepare patients for discharge from the facility and integration into the community. Specific violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 include unnecessary institutionalization of patients into segregated settings, exposed to repeated accidents and injuries, inadequate dietary and physical support, and the undue use of restraint mechanisms found during the 2008-2009 visits to the facility. The investigation found many patients at the CVTC could be better served by integrating them into the community with proper services and more freedom; however it was found that multiple patients which were evaluated as discharge-ready were not placed on the discharge list, often for multiple years past evaluation.[16]
Closureedit
As part of a settlement reached from the investigation into the quality of care and compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, in 2012 then-governor Bob McDonnell announced the facility would close by 2020 and the former residents resettled.[17] During the following years, operations were reduced, and by December 2018, The Central Virginia Training Center had just 65 patients.[18] In 2020, the last residents were relocated and the facility was closed permanently on April 2.[19] As of 2022, the buildings stand abandoned, and the land is in the planning stages of redevelopment into a medium-density urban hub for the neighboring town of Madison Heights.[20]
^ abcdeSchmidt, Jennifer; Boyle, Tara; Vedantam, Shankar; Lu, Thomas; Kwerel, Laura (23 April 2018). "Emma, Carrie, Vivian: How A Family Became A Test Case For Forced Sterilizations". NPR.
^ abcNoll, Steven (1 May 2005). "The Public Face of Southern Institutions for the "Feeble-Minded"". The Public Historian. 27 (2): 25–41. doi:10.1525/tph.2005.27.2.25. PMID 16189921.
^ abcdefghLombardo, Paul A. (2022). Three Generations, No Imbeciles: Eugenics, the Supreme Court, and Buck v. Bell. JHU Press. ISBN978-1-4214-4319-5.[page needed]
^ abc. www.cvtc.dbhds.virginia.gov. Archived from the original on 2018-12-17. Retrieved 2019-10-04.
^"Buck v. Bell." Oyez, www.oyez.org/cases/1900-1940/274us200. Accessed 5 Nov. 2019.
^ abPopenoe, Paul (2009). "The Progress of Eugenic Sterilization". Buck V Bell Documents.
^ abRowe, Frederick B.; Crews, W. David; Finger, Frank W. (May 1993). "John N. Buck (1906–1983): Did he practically establish clinical psychology in virginia?". Journal of Clinical Psychology. 49 (3): 428–434. doi:10.1002/1097-4679(199305)49:3<428::AID-JCLP2270490318>3.0.CO;2-K. PMID 8315047.
^"A Guide to the Records of the Central Virginia Training Center, circa 1909-2000s". Virginia Heritage. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
^Noll, Steven (April 1991). "Southern Strategies for Handling the Black Feeble-minded: From Social Control to Profound Indifference". Journal of Policy History. 3 (2): 130–151. doi:10.1017/S0898030600004826. S2CID 156435476.
^Dorr, Gregory Michael. “Segregation's Science: Eugenics and Society in Virginia.” The University of Virginia Press, 30 Sept. 2019, https://www.upress.virginia.edu/title/3722 .
^"Petersburg State Colony for the Negro Insane Historical Marker". www.hmdb.org. Retrieved 2019-10-04.
^"Central Virginia Training Center Historical Marker". www.hmdb.org.
^"CVTC Mission Statement". Central Virginia Training Center. 2014-01-13. Retrieved 2019-11-03.
^"Investigation of the Commonwealth of Virginia's Compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and of Central Virginia Training Center" (PDF). Letter to Robert F. McDonnell. February 10, 2011.{{cite press release}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
^"CVTC Closing as Part of Department of Justice Agreement". WSET. Archived from the original on 2022-08-26. Retrieved August 26, 2022.
^Faulconer, Justin (24 December 2018). "CVTC: Counting down to closure in Amherst". NewsAdvance.com. Retrieved 2019-10-04.
^Land, Alison (April 2, 2020). "Central Virginia Training Center Closes".
^Lockey, Kortney (June 9, 2022). "Developers discuss future vision for Central Virginia Training Center". WSLS. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
Further readingedit
"Mental defectives in Virginia: A Special Report of the State Board of Charities and Corrections to the General Assembly of Nineteen Sixteen on Weak-mindedness in the State of Virginia - Together with a Plan for Training, Segregation and Prevention of the Procreation of the Feeble-minded" (PDF). wikisource. 1915.
virginia, state, colony, epileptics, feebleminded, virginia, state, colony, epileptics, feeble, minded, state, institution, those, considered, feeble, minded, those, with, severe, mental, impairment, colony, opened, 1910, near, lynchburg, virginia, madison, he. The Virginia State Colony for the Epileptics and Feeble Minded was a state run institution for those considered to be Feeble minded or those with severe mental impairment The colony opened in 1910 near Lynchburg Virginia in Madison Heights with the goal of isolating those with mental disabilities and other qualities deemed unfit for reproduction away from society 1 The colony was the home of Carrie Buck the subject of the landmark Supreme Court case Buck v Bell 2 First opened in 1910 as the Virginia State Epileptic Colony 3 Contents 1 History of the Colony 1 1 Dr Albert Priddy and Carrie Buck 1 1 1 Post Buck v Bell 1 2 Segregation 2 Contemporary usage 2 1 Investigation into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act 3 Closure 4 See also 5 References 6 Further readingHistory of the Colony editThe colony was authorized by a 1906 bill written by eugenicist and social welfare advocate Aubrey Strode in collaboration with eugenicists Albert Priddy and Joseph DeJarnette 4 The colony received its first patients in 1911 and by the end of the calendar year had more than 150 men who suffered from epilepsy a condition of social abhorrence 4 Colonies like the Virginia State Colony had been established in order to separate the disabled from criminal populations for example many of the first inhabitants of the Virginia State Colony had previously been housed in prisons and state hospitals 4 Originally only men could be patients of the colony but after roughly one year of operation superintendent Priddy allowed women into the colony who were diagnosed as feeble minded 4 2 In accordance with the change in potential patients the colony changed from its original name the Virginia Colony for Epileptics to the Virginia Colony for Epileptics and Feebleminded in 1914 5 nbsp Dr Albert Priddy in 1912 photo from Eugenics ArchiveDr Albert Priddy and Carrie Buck edit Priddy a central figure in the legalization of forced sterilization of the mentally feeble was the first superintendent of the colony 1 Priddy had long been a proponent of sterilization as a potential method for controlling the harm the feeble minded could have on a society 4 1 Priddy in fact performed roughly 80 sterilizations between 1916 and 1917 and thought that these procedures yielded favorable results 4 Carrie Buck a poor pregnant teenager from a broken home arrived at the Colony on June 4 1924 4 Her mother Emma Buck was already a patient of the colony thus joining both mother and daughter in the camp 1 Priddy sought Carrie to be a patient of the camp as a way to showcase eugenic ideas of heredity to support Virginia s sterilization law and eventually move the law all the way up to the supreme court 6 1 The three generations of the Buck family and Carrie s impending sterilization became the focus of the landmark supreme court case Buck v Bell Priddy died before the case reached the Supreme Court but nonetheless on May 2 1927 the Supreme Court decided that Virginia s sterilization law was constitutional 7 8 Post Buck v Bell edit Following the decision upholding the constitutionality of Virginia s sterilization law in 1927 sterilizations began to take place at the Virginia Colony itself 6 Carrie Buck was sterilized on October 19 1927 and this began a long run of sterilizations at the colony 4 5 In the six years following the decision in Buck v Bell the state of Virginia performed 1 333 sterilizations 8 The last reported sterilization at the colony occurred in 1956 5 Shortly after the death of Priddy in 1926 Dr John Bell took over as superintendent of the Virginia Colony 9 Under his leadership the colony not only doubled in size but increased its educational efforts to aid the feeble minded population of Virginia 9 The name was changed to Lynchburg State Colony in 1940 Lynchburg Training School and Hospital in 1954 and since 1983 has been known as the Central Virginia Training Center The records of Central Virginia Training Center can be found at the Library of Virginia 10 Segregation edit The Virginia State colony was a center for feeble minded whites only Blacks were not admitted to the colony throughout its early years However the state of Virginia in 1939 created the Petersburg Colony for the care of blacks who were deemed either insane or feebleminded 11 The poorly funded colony was a work camp for its 182 patients who were deemed as having borderline intelligence 12 13 Contemporary usage editThe institution remained integral in the treatment of those with mental disabilities in the State of Virginia In 1983 the facility was renamed to the Central Virginia Training Center 14 The institution s mission statement emphasized The Central Virginia Training Center is committed to providing effective compassionate and individually responsive services to persons with intellectual disabilities empowering safe healthy and enriched lives for the individuals in our care 15 Additionally the facility functioned as an assisted living center and held classes for some of its patients with the hope of eventual community placement 2 Investigation into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act edit Starting in 2008 the United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division launched an investigation into the quality of CVTC and three other state run care facilities throughout Virginia The investigation lasted three years and found multiple inadequacies in the care of disabled persons within CVTC including the failure to develop a sufficient quantity of community based alternatives for individuals with complex needs improper allocation of funds for community based programs and a flawed discharge program which did not sufficiently prepare patients for discharge from the facility and integration into the community Specific violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 include unnecessary institutionalization of patients into segregated settings exposed to repeated accidents and injuries inadequate dietary and physical support and the undue use of restraint mechanisms found during the 2008 2009 visits to the facility The investigation found many patients at the CVTC could be better served by integrating them into the community with proper services and more freedom however it was found that multiple patients which were evaluated as discharge ready were not placed on the discharge list often for multiple years past evaluation 16 Closure editAs part of a settlement reached from the investigation into the quality of care and compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act in 2012 then governor Bob McDonnell announced the facility would close by 2020 and the former residents resettled 17 During the following years operations were reduced and by December 2018 The Central Virginia Training Center had just 65 patients 18 In 2020 the last residents were relocated and the facility was closed permanently on April 2 19 As of 2022 the buildings stand abandoned and the land is in the planning stages of redevelopment into a medium density urban hub for the neighboring town of Madison Heights 20 See also editPoe v Lynchburg Training School amp HospitalReferences edit a b c d e Schmidt Jennifer Boyle Tara Vedantam Shankar Lu Thomas Kwerel Laura 23 April 2018 Emma Carrie Vivian How A Family Became A Test Case For Forced Sterilizations NPR a b c Noll Steven 1 May 2005 The Public Face of Southern Institutions for the Feeble Minded The Public Historian 27 2 25 41 doi 10 1525 tph 2005 27 2 25 PMID 16189921 Central Virginia Training Center History a b c d e f g h Lombardo Paul A 2022 Three Generations No Imbeciles Eugenics the Supreme Court and Buck v Bell JHU Press ISBN 978 1 4214 4319 5 page needed a b c CVTC Feedback Page www cvtc dbhds virginia gov Archived from the original on 2018 12 17 Retrieved 2019 10 04 a b Virginia Eugenics www uvm edu Retrieved 2019 10 04 self published source Buck v Bell Oyez www oyez org cases 1900 1940 274us200 Accessed 5 Nov 2019 a b Popenoe Paul 2009 The Progress of Eugenic Sterilization Buck V Bell Documents a b Rowe Frederick B Crews W David Finger Frank W May 1993 John N Buck 1906 1983 Did he practically establish clinical psychology in virginia Journal of Clinical Psychology 49 3 428 434 doi 10 1002 1097 4679 199305 49 3 lt 428 AID JCLP2270490318 gt 3 0 CO 2 K PMID 8315047 A Guide to the Records of the Central Virginia Training Center circa 1909 2000s Virginia Heritage Retrieved 8 May 2014 Noll Steven April 1991 Southern Strategies for Handling the Black Feeble minded From Social Control to Profound Indifference Journal of Policy History 3 2 130 151 doi 10 1017 S0898030600004826 S2CID 156435476 Dorr Gregory Michael Segregation s Science Eugenics and Society in Virginia The University of Virginia Press 30 Sept 2019 https www upress virginia edu title 3722 Petersburg State Colony for the Negro Insane Historical Marker www hmdb org Retrieved 2019 10 04 Central Virginia Training Center Historical Marker www hmdb org CVTC Mission Statement Central Virginia Training Center 2014 01 13 Retrieved 2019 11 03 Investigation of the Commonwealth of Virginia s Compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and of Central Virginia Training Center PDF Letter to Robert F McDonnell February 10 2011 a href Template Cite press release html title Template Cite press release cite press release a CS1 maint others link CVTC Closing as Part of Department of Justice Agreement WSET Archived from the original on 2022 08 26 Retrieved August 26 2022 Faulconer Justin 24 December 2018 CVTC Counting down to closure in Amherst NewsAdvance com Retrieved 2019 10 04 Land Alison April 2 2020 Central Virginia Training Center Closes Lockey Kortney June 9 2022 Developers discuss future vision for Central Virginia Training Center WSLS Retrieved July 9 2022 Further reading edit Mental defectives in Virginia A Special Report of the State Board of Charities and Corrections to the General Assembly of Nineteen Sixteen on Weak mindedness in the State of Virginia Together with a Plan for Training Segregation and Prevention of the Procreation of the Feeble minded PDF wikisource 1915 37 24 57 N 79 7 11 W 37 41583 N 79 11972 W 37 41583 79 11972 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Virginia State Colony for Epileptics and Feebleminded amp oldid 1171442933, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
