NAPA, Calif. — The Napa State Hospital has been an integral part of the local community for 150 years. This institution was sought out for more than treatment of mental dysfunctions; many felt it would cure the economic ills of 19th century Napa County.
It began in 1870 when the California legislature passed a bill which approved a feasibility study for a new state hospital. Prior to this time, California’s first asylum was located in Stockton. That 1852 facility had far exceeded its capacity of 80 patients by 1870. California needed a new psychiatric hospital.
Upon passage of the aforementioned bill, then Gov. H.H. Haight commissioned Dr. Edmund T. Wilkins to thoroughly study other hospitals in both the U.S. and Europe. After investigating 149 institutions at home and overseas, Wilkins compiled an exhaustive report by Dec. 2, 1871. Within this study, Wilkins strongly recommended the “moral treatment” program practiced by most of the model institutions. After reviewing the Wilkins report, the California legislature passed a second bill which approved constructing a new asylum. The Wilkins report also served as the foundation on which the architects based their concepts for the new hospital.
After the passage of the second 1871 legislation, California Gov. Newton Booth appointed Wilkins, Dr. George Shurtleff (superintendent of the Stockton asylum) and Judge C.H. Swift of Sacramento to a site selection committee in March 1872. Numerous communities throughout the state wanted the hospital in their town as it would offer good paying jobs to the residents of those communities who would in turn spend their paychecks within the selected community. So, they actively lobbied and tried to woo the trio. However, it took the finesse of Napans, such as the well-connected Chancellor Hartson, to win over the committee and receive their approval. Additional reasons for selecting Napa included the area’s temperate climate, easy access to a dependable transportation route – the Napa River – and reasonable land prices.
Construction of the 500-bed hospital began in 1873. To monitor and administer the building funds, another committee of three was appointed by the governor. This original board of directors was comprised entirely of Napans: Hartson, a lawyer and politician; James Goodman, a banker; and Robert Sterling, a Napa County official and businessman…