History

When Springfield opened in 1896, it was officially called “The Second Hospital for the Insane of Maryland”, though it was often referred to as the Asylum at Springfield. Due to significant overcrowding at other facilities, 22 male patients were transferred from Spring Grove State Hospital in Catonsville and housed in an existing farmhouse, Buttercup Cottage, on the southern end of the Springfield campus. They lived there for two years while the first phase of construction—the Men’s Group Quad—was underway. These buildings were designed according to the innovative “Cottage Plan”, making Springfield the second hospital in the country to adopt this approach after Medfield State Hospital. This plan addressed the flaws of the older Kirkbride Design, which consisted of one large building, by using separate structures, or “pavilions,” to improve administration, operations, and patient care. After the first hospital buildings were completed in 1898, existing patients—then referred to as “inmates”—were moved to the new structures, and a group of male epileptic patients took their place at Buttercup Cottage.

Following reports on the operation of the new buildings, additional land was cleared for the Women’s Group Quad. Constructed similarly to the Men’s Group, with minor variations, this cluster was positioned on the extreme southern end of campus, far from the male facilities on the northern side. Over roughly 30 years, both the Men’s and Women’s Groups expanded significantly and now include 13 historic buildings each. Springfield’s growth, however, was not limited to these groups. Additional facilities were added over the years, including the powerplant, railroad (Dinky Line), John Hubner Psychopathic Hospital, Epileptic Colony, tuberculosis unit, farm colony, staff homes, new superintendent’s mansion (Patterson House), and patient cemetery (Sunnyside).
 

Model Institution

After the completion of the Men’s and Women’s Groups, Springfield earned the designation of a “Model Institution”, a rare honor at the time. The hospital’s progressive approach to treatment, construction, and administration made it a reference for other institutions nationwide. Springfield implemented an open-door policy, allowing patients free movement around the grounds rather than confining them. Though controversial, this approach proved highly effective: Springfield consistently recorded some of the lowest patient escape rates in the country, even lower than institutions with locked doors and barred windows. The institution also participated in Work/Industrial Therapy, a popular approach for treatment that consisted of utilizing patient labor to sustain the hospital's operations. Types of work included construction, farming, cooking, cleaning, sewing, road grading, transportation, and more. This was viewed as therapeutic to patients as it gave them a sense of purpose and community instead of sitting idle in isolation cells all day. Industrial Therapy would not stop at Springfield until the 1960's. These factors played into the hospital setting the standard for humane mental health care and it continues to hold that reputation today.
 

Maryland’s Shame

In the 1940s, the Baltimore Sun released a series of articles titled “Maryland’s Shame”, exposing deplorable conditions across the state’s mental hospitals. The series documented overcrowded wards, patients restrained in chairs and straitjackets, soiled bedding, and emaciated individuals confined in isolation. Even Springfield, the state’s “crowned jewel” of mental health care, was implicated, shocking the public.

Much of the crisis was linked to World War II, as hospital staff left to serve in the military, depleting the workforce. Simultaneously, returning veterans suffering from PTSD, then poorly understood, increased patient populations—particularly in the Men’s Group—beyond capacity.

Public outcry following the articles led the state to renovate aging buildings, restore staffing levels, and construct two new large buildings in both the Men’s and Women’s Groups. Over time, conditions improved, and complaints regarding abuse or neglect became rare.
 

Downsizing

At its height, Springfield was the largest mental institution on the East Coast, housing over 4,000 patients. The hospital operated at full scale until the 1970s and 1980s, when deinstitutionalization led to widespread downsizing and closure of many similar institutions. Springfield, however, remained open, now operating on a much smaller scale.

Today, Springfield is operated by the Maryland Department of Health through the Mental Hygiene Administration. Parts of its historic core were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2000, including the Warfield Complex, Hubner, and T Buildings.