“Simply to speak a few plain unvarnished truths”

Ebenezer Haskell and the Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane

The Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane at 44th and Walnut Streets, known locally as “Kirkbride’s Hospital,” was founded in 1841 to alleviate overcrowding at the Hospital’s main building on 8th and Spruce Streets, and to provide insane patients with conditions better suited to their needs. Thomas Story Kirkbride, one of the founders of what is now the American Psychiatric Association, served as Superintendent of the hospital from 1841 until his death in 1883. In 1859 the Hospital doubled in size with the addition of a new Department for Males building, designed by Kirkbride to meet his exact specifications.

Ebenezer Haskell was forcibly removed from his home in May of 1866 and taken to the Philadelphia Almshouse. A few days later he was removed to the Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane where a physician asserted that he was insane. He spent the next two years escaping from and being readmitted to the almshouse and hospital until a trial in November 1868 finally found him to be sane. His narrative is short, and little is known about Haskell before 1866, but the drawings he created to include alongside his published narrative are particularly noteworthy.

Philadelphia Hospital for the Insane, Auditorium at Institute with Magic Lantern. (Philadelphia, undated). Reproduction created from the original negative.

Courtesy of the Pennsylvania Hospital Historic Collections

The moral treatment program developed at the Philadelphia Hospital for the Insane under Kirkbride relied on both structure and diversion. Routine was important for the well-being of patients, but tedium was to be avoided. As such, Kirkbride’s program offered a regular yet varied schedule of amusements and activities. Outside, the hospital boasted beautifully landscaped grounds with gazebos, walking paths, a ten-pin alley, and miniature railroad. Inside, there was a museum, a library, and an auditorium where evening lectures, musical performances, dances, and readings were held.

Cased Photograph of Dr. Thomas S. Kirkbride.

Courtesy of the Pennsylvania Hospital Historic Collections

Kirkbride’s Magic Lantern and two magic lantern slides.

Courtesy of the Pennsylvania Hospital Historic Collections

Magic lantern shows, consisting of a series of slides presented alongside an accompanying lecture, were introduced into the schedule of evening entertainments in 1843 and held two to three nights per week, alternating between the Departments. But these shows were not simply entertainments – they also offered important opportunities for mental stimulation, education, and socializing.

Ebenezer Haskell, The Trial of Ebenezer Haskell, in Lunacy, and His Acquittal before Judge Brewster, in November, 1868 (Philadelphia, 1869). Reproductions from the original text. Gift of Ebenezer Haskell.

Not everyone thought highly of Kirkbride’s hospital, or of Kirkbride himself. In his published account, Ebenezer Haskell (1805-1893) recounts his arrest, commitment to, and multiple escapes from the Philadelphia Hospital for the Insane.

On May 24, 1866, Haskell, an established carriage maker and mechanic, was arrested during breakfast. A certificate of insanity was issued by a local dentist, and Haskell was admitted to the asylum. Over the next two and a half years he was admitted to the hospital four times, and escaped four times. During his final escape on September 9, 1868, he broke a leg and was taken to Pennsylvania Hospital. Eleven weeks later, on November 28th, a verdict was issued establishing his sanity. In January of the following year, Haskell sued Kirkbride for damages.

Though his narrative is brief, the illustrations Haskell created to accompany it truly speak for themselves.