Thoughts by Nolan

I think that this facility was a strange way to hold alot of people thay had absolutely nothing wrong with them they were just people like you and me. They just had the slightest thing wrong with them 

Thoughts by: Travis

I think it's cool that there was 1500 employees working there and that they earned $218,000 a week.

History of Oakdale fact Sheet by the Mural Group

The History Of Oakdale

The names of Oakdale

• Michigan Home for the Feebleminded and Epileptic

• Michigan Home and Training School

• Lapeer State Home and Training School

• Oakdale Center for Developmental Disabilities

Opened:

August 1825

Closed:

October 1991

Center closed because:

The number of residents declined due to the shift of housing patients in group’s homes.

Effect of closing on Community:

• More than six hundred lay off.

• All buildings torn down except 45 (Mott College), 71 (Chatfield), and Woodside, or now Rolland-Warner.

Changes to the Facility:

• September 11, 1895: School Opened

• March 1904: Administration building added

• 1910: Small Pox epidemic

• 1973: Castle torn down after a fire, 71 yr. old

Purpose of facility:

• To house the mentally handicapped, disabled, and orphaned children.

• They often picked children off the streets.

Effect on the Community:

• It brought thousands of residents to Lapeer to be a patient, or an employee.

• It gave work, and help to those who needed it.

Number of people who worked there:

• The facility had 1,100 employees at its highest point in 1950.

Jobs were:

• farming,

• housekeeping,

• cooking

• Nurses, doctors, medical

• Maintenance

• Teachers

• Administration

Amount of people housed there:

• 1895-200

• 1938-3,804

• 1953-4,400

• 1964-4,448

The End of Oakdale:

• 191 acres for a dollar

• Bought by Lapeer

• Left Mott, Chatfield, Cemetery,

old play ground equipment, Dolphin statue, Woodside.

Purchase of the facility

What life was like for residents?


• Dances

• Movies

• Skating

• Baseball

• Picnics

• Parties

• Off-Site work

• School

Number of buildings:

• 115 buildings

• 2 schools

• 2 hospitals

• Laundry Building

• Bakery

• Kitchen

• Cathedral

• Residences

• Nursery

• 38 farm building

• Administration building

Dairy farm

• 225 milking cows

• 1500 chickens that laid eggs

• 100 acre garden

• 600 hogs

• 450 registered Holsteins-most registered in Michigan at the time

• All meat was slaughtered at the Facility’s slaughterhouse

Purchase of the Facility

• The city bought the facility from the state for a dollar (191 acres)

• a non-for-profit restriction to be lifted cost the city $800,000 to the state

• city had to pay $200,000 to $300,000 to clean up asbestos and other contaminants

Buying the facility

The city of lapeer bought the property 191 acres from the state for a dollar, but it had non for profit restriction and in order to lift it, the city had to pay the state 800,000 dollars. Also the city had to pay 200,000 to 300,000 dollars to clean up asbestos and other contaminats.

buildings

At one time there were 115 buildings.

Thoughts by William

I am amazed becuase a factory made a week are 1500 double loafs of bread, 400 dozen donuts, and 700 dozen cookies.

Every Day Life

The residents often had social training through out dances, movies, skating, baseball, picnics and parties. Some were a part of a choir or presented plays. Residents often worked on the facility farms.

Number of patients

Patients when first opened in 1895----200
Patients in 1938----3,806
Patients in 1953----4,400
Patients in 1964----4,048

Thoughts: by Travis

I think it's crazy that they were using so much lard, eggs, vegetables, and liquid.

Thoughts:by Nick

I think the farm was very intresting its cool how they had about 600 hogs 1500 chickens 100 acre garden and 200lbs of lard a week. Its amazing how many eggs they produced a week. I wonder if they still had enough for every one to have a good meal each day.

Article from The County Press, March 21, 2010: Old Newsletters a Portal Into a Long-gone Community

This is the source for what remains of Oakdale article by Joyce Bonesteel contributing writer.
http://thecountypress.mihomepaper.com/news/2010-03-21/Marketplace/Old_newsletters_a_portal_into_a_longgone_community.html

Reason of closing

It closed because more than 600 employees were being laid off because they were changing their symptoms. And because of that, there were less people coming.

thoughts by Nolan

I think this center was a cruel way to treat people that might have something as slight as a stutter and that it may just be one of the reasons that lapeer is here today and could be the founder of lapeer.

Thoughts:by Nick

I think the facility was cool it sounds like they had everything you need but they kind of judged people on if they are average or dumb. Some of their workers even had to live there because they "are to dumb". It was pretty cool how it lasted for about 96 years.

Thoughts by: Travis

I think that the facility isn't that great because if someone was left-handed, they had to stay at the facility. I also think that it was OK because some people who do whatever like the idiots (see IQ classification chart) would try to hurt people.

thoughts by william.

I think this facility was a good one becuaseit held a lot of people that would possibly negitvly effect the comunity that they were in back then, but it also held a lot of people that were just left handed or unique in there own way.

Closed?

In the 1990s there was a huge lay off in the oakdale staff. Over 600 people were layed off. All buildings were closed down except for building 70 which is now chatfield feel that this was a cruel way to hold people and this was a large part of our community.

IQ classification system: (old system)

0-24.....idiot
25-49.....imbecile
50-69.....moron
70-89.....borderline
90-up.....normal

At one time all levels of classification were housed at the center, but towards it's closing, it mainly housed those with an IQ of 24 or under. Of course we don't use this system today.

Patients

In 1938, the center held 3,806 patients. In 1953, it held 4400 patients, then it started to decline in 1964 when the number dropped to 4084.

Purpose

This facility housed mentally disabled people, disabled people and even orphans

The Old Farm

At one time it was said that the dairy farm had about 225 milking cows that produced an average of 3,500 quarts or half a ton of milk a day which was all consumed at the center. It had 450 registered Holsteins-the largest registered in Michigan at the time. The bakery used 200 lbs a week of lard. They had 15 hundred chickens that produced eggs. And an 100 acre garden that had all types of fruits and vegetables. They had 600 hogs and all meat was slaughtered at the facility's slaughterhouse.

The Center Beggining and End

The Oakdale Center for the mentally ill was opened in August 1895 and stayed opened until October 1991. The center was closed due to the lack of patients. Patients started to be put in to group homes. The closing of the center caused up to 600 lay-offs in the 1990s.