Guide
8 National Register Sites of Civilian Public Service-Led Disability Activism
During World War II and its aftermath, 45 mental hospitals in the country served as sites for Civilian Public Service camps. Conscientious Objectors (COs) served as ward attendants and occasionally performed other needs at the sites. CPS camps were established through agreements with the federal government and three historic "peace churches:" the American Friends Service Committee, Brethren Service Committee, and Mennonite Central Committee.
Shocked by the mistreatment and abuse they saw their new patients face, many of these young men and their wives used methods like undercover photography and organizing to document the discrimination. The COs experiences and their abilities to create communities within the camps depended on the support or opposition they faced from permanent hospital employees and the state government.
While 20 of the CPS camps are listed in the National Register of Historic Places, this guide highlight eight CPS camps where disability history was made. The hospitals listed in this article are referred to by their historic names. The current names of the sites are indicated in parentheses. Many of these names include terms that are incorrect and harmful when discussing people with disabilities today
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Photo By: National Register of Historic Places
Connecticut General Hospital for the Insane
A total of 85 men served in the CPS camp at Connecticut General Hospital for the Insane in Middletown (now Connecticut Valley Hospital) from March 1943 to September 1946. They worked as ward attendants, providing custodial care. Alex Sareyan, who later wrote The "Turning Point: How Persons of Conscience Brought About Major Change in the Care of America’s Mentally Ill," served as the assistant director of the CPS unit. He began a public relations unit for the hospital that met local newspapers. Staff shortages before the COs meant patients received less therapy and no regular exercise outside of the hospital. The CPS camp meant many patients could resume helping with work like cleaning.
Learn More
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Photo By: National Register of Historic Places
Warfield Complex, Hubner Building, T Building
From August 1942 to July 1946, a total of 119 COs worked at CPS camp 47, at the Warfield Complex, Hubner Building, T Building (now Springfield State Hospital) in Sykesville, Maryland. COs here served in a variety of roles, and a large number of COs meant that the hospital could afford to provide training in psychiatric treatments. Ward attendants at Springfield served as housekeepers, aided in feeding, bathing, and dressing patients, and provided dressings, electric shock therapy, and injection-based treatment.
Learn More
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Photo By: National Register of Historic Places
New Jersey State Asylum for the Insane
CPS camp, at the New Jersey State Asylum for the Insane (now Greystone Park State Hospital) 77 had 179 workers from January 1943 to August 1946. The Community Service Committee provided opportunities to help the hospital and surrounding community. The COs reestablished a library and built games and puzzles for patients. They donated blood, led a boys’ club at a local settlement house, made Christmas baskets for needy families, and led programs in churches. One of the COs at Greystone Park was Frank L. Wright, Jr., who wrote "Out of Sight, Out of Mind." While CO Clayton Bowman remembered some violent patients, he discussed in an oral history how many patients would help the CPS camp workers care for other, less physically capable ones.
Learn More
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Photo By: National Register of Historic Places
Central Ohio Lunatic Asylum
From December 1942 to June 1946, fifty-six COs worked at the CPS camp at what was then Central Ohio Lunatic Asylum (now Columbus State Hospital). In addition to serving as attendants, the hospital had a unit of COs who volunteered as human guinea pigs in experiments related to starvation and illness. The COs in this unit were also part of the CPS union first started in 1944 by Quaker COs. The union fought for improvements in pay, working conditions, and rights.
Learn More
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Photo By: National Register of Historic Places
Pennsylvania State Lunatic Hospital
A total of 69 men worked at CPS camp, 93 at the Pennsylvania State Lunatic Hospital (now Harrisburg State Hospital) from April 1943 to April 1946. The COs and some of their wives worked as ward attendants at the site. From 1944 – 1945 the position also included clerical work. Men participated in a Christian worker’s school with two courses: "The Life and Teachings of Jesus" and "The Work of the Church." Unlike other camps, men at CPS camp 93 were able to live in single or double rooms in the hospital, as opposed to barracks or outside housing.
Learn More
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Photo By: National Register of Historic Places
Utah State Hospital
From March 1943 to April 1946 a CPS camp operated at the Utah State Hospital in Provo, Utah. 38 total COs worked at the camp over the course of its existence, performing a variety of jobs to make up for staffing shortages. Like other camps, the COs developed a religious community: they met weekly for Sunday school lessons, sang in choirs, and taught a summer Bible school. Some men also earned course credit at Brigham Young University.
Learn More
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Photo By: National Register of Historic Places
Western State Hospital Complex
CPS camp 44, at what is now the Western State Hospital in Staunton, Virginia, had 110 workers from August 1942 to September 1946. The COs worked 76 hours per week, sleeping in the wards, eating low quality food, and combating rat infestation. Initially, patients disliked the COs, calling them “slackers” and “yellow-bellies.” Much of the anger, though, came from the mistreatment they faced from the normal attendants. The COs documented evidence of poor patient care and working conditions, sparking a community protest in 1943 that led to the superintendent’s resignation. Morale improved after changes to working hours and conditions. COs appointed a camp historian, held softball games, and organized lectures on many subjects.
Learn More
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Photo By: National Register of Historic Places
Fort Steilacoom
From September 1942 to October 1945 Thirty-six COs worked at Ft. Steilacoom (now the Western State Hospital) CPS camp. Fifteen of them had previously worked at a CPS camp in Cascade Locks, Oregon. In addition to making a camp newsletter, the COs created the Pacifist Information Center, which hoped to better familiarize the public with the pacifist movement. They developed a library full of pacifist literature. While other COs struggled with poor living conditions and a lack of state support, the governor of Washington was fully supportive of the development of CPS camps in state facilities.
Learn More
Emma Gruesbeck is an anthropologist and historic preservationist based in Maryland. This article was previously researched and published as an article for the National Park Service. For more information about COs’ disability activism and the hospitals that had CPS camps, visit Conscientious Objectors and Mental Health Reform or Mental Hospital Civilian Public Service Camps and the National Register of Historic Places.
8 National Register Sites of Civilian Public Service-Led Disability Activism
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1
Connecticut General Hospital for the Insane
A total of 85 men served in the CPS camp at Connecticut General Hospital for the Insane in Middletown (now Connecticut Valley Hospital) from March 1943 to September 1946. They worked as ward attendants, providing custodial care. Alex Sareyan, who later wrote The "Turning Point: How Persons of Conscience Brought About Major Change in the Care of America’s Mentally Ill," served as the assistant director of the CPS unit. He began a public relations unit for the hospital that met local newspapers. Staff shortages before the COs meant patients received less therapy and no regular exercise outside of the hospital. The CPS camp meant many patients could resume helping with work like cleaning. -
2
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Warfield Complex, Hubner Building, T Building
From August 1942 to July 1946, a total of 119 COs worked at CPS camp 47, at the Warfield Complex, Hubner Building, T Building (now Springfield State Hospital) in Sykesville, Maryland. COs here served in a variety of roles, and a large number of COs meant that the hospital could afford to provide training in psychiatric treatments. Ward attendants at Springfield served as housekeepers, aided in feeding, bathing, and dressing patients, and provided dressings, electric shock therapy, and injection-based treatment. -
3
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New Jersey State Asylum for the Insane
CPS camp, at the New Jersey State Asylum for the Insane (now Greystone Park State Hospital) 77 had 179 workers from January 1943 to August 1946. The Community Service Committee provided opportunities to help the hospital and surrounding community. The COs reestablished a library and built games and puzzles for patients. They donated blood, led a boys’ club at a local settlement house, made Christmas baskets for needy families, and led programs in churches. One of the COs at Greystone Park was Frank L. Wright, Jr., who wrote "Out of Sight, Out of Mind." While CO Clayton Bowman remembered some violent patients, he discussed in an oral history how many patients would help the CPS camp workers care for other, less physically capable ones. -
4
Central Ohio Lunatic Asylum
From December 1942 to June 1946, fifty-six COs worked at the CPS camp at what was then Central Ohio Lunatic Asylum (now Columbus State Hospital). In addition to serving as attendants, the hospital had a unit of COs who volunteered as human guinea pigs in experiments related to starvation and illness. The COs in this unit were also part of the CPS union first started in 1944 by Quaker COs. The union fought for improvements in pay, working conditions, and rights. -
5
Pennsylvania State Lunatic Hospital
A total of 69 men worked at CPS camp, 93 at the Pennsylvania State Lunatic Hospital (now Harrisburg State Hospital) from April 1943 to April 1946. The COs and some of their wives worked as ward attendants at the site. From 1944 – 1945 the position also included clerical work. Men participated in a Christian worker’s school with two courses: "The Life and Teachings of Jesus" and "The Work of the Church." Unlike other camps, men at CPS camp 93 were able to live in single or double rooms in the hospital, as opposed to barracks or outside housing. -
6
Utah State Hospital
From March 1943 to April 1946 a CPS camp operated at the Utah State Hospital in Provo, Utah. 38 total COs worked at the camp over the course of its existence, performing a variety of jobs to make up for staffing shortages. Like other camps, the COs developed a religious community: they met weekly for Sunday school lessons, sang in choirs, and taught a summer Bible school. Some men also earned course credit at Brigham Young University. -
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Western State Hospital Complex
CPS camp 44, at what is now the Western State Hospital in Staunton, Virginia, had 110 workers from August 1942 to September 1946. The COs worked 76 hours per week, sleeping in the wards, eating low quality food, and combating rat infestation. Initially, patients disliked the COs, calling them “slackers” and “yellow-bellies.” Much of the anger, though, came from the mistreatment they faced from the normal attendants. The COs documented evidence of poor patient care and working conditions, sparking a community protest in 1943 that led to the superintendent’s resignation. Morale improved after changes to working hours and conditions. COs appointed a camp historian, held softball games, and organized lectures on many subjects. -
8
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Fort Steilacoom
From September 1942 to October 1945 Thirty-six COs worked at Ft. Steilacoom (now the Western State Hospital) CPS camp. Fifteen of them had previously worked at a CPS camp in Cascade Locks, Oregon. In addition to making a camp newsletter, the COs created the Pacifist Information Center, which hoped to better familiarize the public with the pacifist movement. They developed a library full of pacifist literature. While other COs struggled with poor living conditions and a lack of state support, the governor of Washington was fully supportive of the development of CPS camps in state facilities.
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1
Connecticut General Hospital for the Insane
A total of 85 men served in the CPS camp at Connecticut General Hospital for the Insane in Middletown (now Connecticut Valley Hospital) from March 1943 to September 1946. They worked as ward attendants, providing custodial care. Alex Sareyan, who later wrote The "Turning Point: How Persons of Conscience Brought About Major Change in the Care of America’s Mentally Ill," served as the assistant director of the CPS unit. He began a public relations unit for the hospital that met local newspapers. Staff shortages before the COs meant patients received less therapy and no regular exercise outside of the hospital. The CPS camp meant many patients could resume helping with work like cleaning. -
2
Warfield Complex, Hubner Building, T Building
From August 1942 to July 1946, a total of 119 COs worked at CPS camp 47, at the Warfield Complex, Hubner Building, T Building (now Springfield State Hospital) in Sykesville, Maryland. COs here served in a variety of roles, and a large number of COs meant that the hospital could afford to provide training in psychiatric treatments. Ward attendants at Springfield served as housekeepers, aided in feeding, bathing, and dressing patients, and provided dressings, electric shock therapy, and injection-based treatment. -
3
New Jersey State Asylum for the Insane
CPS camp, at the New Jersey State Asylum for the Insane (now Greystone Park State Hospital) 77 had 179 workers from January 1943 to August 1946. The Community Service Committee provided opportunities to help the hospital and surrounding community. The COs reestablished a library and built games and puzzles for patients. They donated blood, led a boys’ club at a local settlement house, made Christmas baskets for needy families, and led programs in churches. One of the COs at Greystone Park was Frank L. Wright, Jr., who wrote "Out of Sight, Out of Mind." While CO Clayton Bowman remembered some violent patients, he discussed in an oral history how many patients would help the CPS camp workers care for other, less physically capable ones. -
4
Central Ohio Lunatic Asylum
From December 1942 to June 1946, fifty-six COs worked at the CPS camp at what was then Central Ohio Lunatic Asylum (now Columbus State Hospital). In addition to serving as attendants, the hospital had a unit of COs who volunteered as human guinea pigs in experiments related to starvation and illness. The COs in this unit were also part of the CPS union first started in 1944 by Quaker COs. The union fought for improvements in pay, working conditions, and rights. -
5
Pennsylvania State Lunatic Hospital
A total of 69 men worked at CPS camp, 93 at the Pennsylvania State Lunatic Hospital (now Harrisburg State Hospital) from April 1943 to April 1946. The COs and some of their wives worked as ward attendants at the site. From 1944 – 1945 the position also included clerical work. Men participated in a Christian worker’s school with two courses: "The Life and Teachings of Jesus" and "The Work of the Church." Unlike other camps, men at CPS camp 93 were able to live in single or double rooms in the hospital, as opposed to barracks or outside housing. -
6
Utah State Hospital
From March 1943 to April 1946 a CPS camp operated at the Utah State Hospital in Provo, Utah. 38 total COs worked at the camp over the course of its existence, performing a variety of jobs to make up for staffing shortages. Like other camps, the COs developed a religious community: they met weekly for Sunday school lessons, sang in choirs, and taught a summer Bible school. Some men also earned course credit at Brigham Young University. -
7
Western State Hospital Complex
CPS camp 44, at what is now the Western State Hospital in Staunton, Virginia, had 110 workers from August 1942 to September 1946. The COs worked 76 hours per week, sleeping in the wards, eating low quality food, and combating rat infestation. Initially, patients disliked the COs, calling them “slackers” and “yellow-bellies.” Much of the anger, though, came from the mistreatment they faced from the normal attendants. The COs documented evidence of poor patient care and working conditions, sparking a community protest in 1943 that led to the superintendent’s resignation. Morale improved after changes to working hours and conditions. COs appointed a camp historian, held softball games, and organized lectures on many subjects. -
8
Fort Steilacoom
From September 1942 to October 1945 Thirty-six COs worked at Ft. Steilacoom (now the Western State Hospital) CPS camp. Fifteen of them had previously worked at a CPS camp in Cascade Locks, Oregon. In addition to making a camp newsletter, the COs created the Pacifist Information Center, which hoped to better familiarize the public with the pacifist movement. They developed a library full of pacifist literature. While other COs struggled with poor living conditions and a lack of state support, the governor of Washington was fully supportive of the development of CPS camps in state facilities.