Unseen Erickson P.5
FROM THE ARCHIVES OF THE ERICKSON FOUNDATION
Archives Location: R3-3-S15 U137 – F2
Erickson at Eloise
by Joyce Bavlinka, m.ed., lisac
Sarah Clinebell, who has been working on the Erickson archives since June 2022, has supplied us with a folder that includes pictures of the Erickson’s ancestors, the story of Croakers and sketches of the Erickson apartment at Eloise. She also supplied us with pictures from the Erickson photograph collection including pictures of Erickson and his brother and Erickson inducing Betty Erickson into trance.
According to “An Epic Life 2” by Jeffrey Zeig, Ph. D., Erickson served as director of psychiatric research and training at Eloise from 1934 - 1948. From 1938 – 1942, he also served as instructor, assistant and associate professor in the psychiatry department of Wayne University College of Medicine in Detroit, Michigan. From 1942 – 1948, he was a full professor at the Graduate School.
Erickson’s personal library included “History of Eloise: Wayne County House, Wayne County Asylum by Stanislas M. Keenan, printed in 1913. The book traces the growth of Eloise, first as a poor house in 1831, then as a facility serving those with tuberculosis and then the mentally insane.
HISTORY OF ELOISE
As the population grew, buildings were added. By 1913, the facility included four asylum buildings, laundries, bakeries, a hospital, a power plant, a water treatment plant, a waste treatment facility, a butchery, a fire house, a diagnostic laboratory, a cannery, a school and a farm. The facility was self-contained and grew much of its food. There was a pig farm, vegetable gardens, a tobacco curing facility, greenhouses and flower gardens. Eloise had its own post office, fire department, and trolley stop. The facility was funded with public funds from local townships and counties, the city of Detroit, and the state.
This book is available at the internet archive:
“Eloise: Poorhouse, Farm, Asylum, and Hospital 1939 – 1984” by Patricia Ibbotson documents the growth of the facility. Eloise grew to over 900 acres, 75 buildings, and served 10,000 patients in 1933. The “N” building alone could hold over 7,000 patients. The Eloise hospital was one of the first facilities in the country to use x-rays.
The Eloise Preservation Society provides a movie on the history of Eloise that can be accessed at: https://www.asylumprojects.org/index.php?title=Eloise_Asylum
“The population peaked during the Great Depression and then began to decrease. The farm ceased operation in 1958, and the complex began purchasing all its food. Some of the psychiatric buildings were vacated in 1973. The large hospital complex started closing in 1977….The general hospital closed in 1984. The buildings sat vacant for years and were subjected to vandalism. Wayne County then demolished all but a few of the old buildings.”
Foyer of Administration building in 2021.
PATIENT HANDBOOK
Patients were given a Handbook which can be accessed at:
https://archive.org/details/patientwaynecoun00wayn/page/n11/mode/2up
THE TALES OF ELOISE
The website www.thetalesofeloise.com contains an extensive collection of information about Eloise including an inventory of buildings, key figures, maps, photos, a news archive, famous patients and auditor reports. In the “Documentation” section of the website, at the end of the webpage, there is a link to an historical publication prepared by the Wayne County General Hospital in March 1982. That publication, “Eloise News,” highlights the history year by year. The September 1934 entry, “New Procedures at Eloise,” announced the hiring of “an expert in hypnosis and hypnotherapy, Dr. Milton Erickson of the Worchester State Hospital in Massachusetts….”
PICTURES OF ERICKSON WHILE RESIDING AT ELOISE
Picture of /Psychiatric Staff, June 1946. Erickson is in the white suit in the front row.
Picture of Erickson outside “I” Building with his brother Clarence
Picture of Erickson inducing trance in Betty Erickson
From “Feeling No Pain” by Jerome Beatty, “American Magazine,” November 1945
LIVING ARRANGEMENTS FOR STAFF AND THE ERICKSON FAMILY
Twenty percent of the staff lived on premises. There were quarters for single staff, apartments for families and attached housing for administration and senior staff. Some staff had quarters in the psychiatric building and ate meals in the patient cafeterias. Some of the women’s buildings had nurses’ quarters.
The Erickson family lived in the “I” building with rooms on the first, second and third floors with a kitchen in the basement. The first floor of the building served patients in each of the wings and patient dining in the shared central area. There were three apartments, a treatment room and quarters for Lance and Bert.
The second floor housed the Erickson’s main apartment consisting of a living room, dining area, two bedrooms, and a pantry. The apartment had a porch that sat over the main entrance to the building. On the third floor was an apartment for Carol and Betty Alice. There were other apartments for other staff on that floor.
Picture of “I” Building
Sketch of grounds at Eloise with location of I building where family resided
Hand drawing of Erickson Family Apartment
Hand drawing of the 4 floors of I building with locations of Ericson occupied quarters
Hand drawing of first floor of I building with location of Erickson occupied quarters
Comments? Please run them by me.
Email: joyce@erickson-foundation.org
Additional Resources:
History of Eloise
Eloise: Poor House, Farm, Asylum, And Hospital 1938 - 1984
Epic Life 2
