Green Bedroom

Perhaps used for isolation? They usually had all the beds and patients together in a big room when they slept.

Having inherited letters written by a second cousin who was an "inmate" at Pennhurst , she speaks of
of course, how bad she wants out of this "very bad place ...." Soon after writing that letter, a letter from Edward A Whilton, MD, Unit I Physician was received stating she was taken to Memorial hospital "because of pregnancy." My guess, from other letters she had written, she was raped. How can one be raped if sleeping in dormatory fashion? Her letters were fairly vague, probably because they were monitored before mailing, but one can read between the lines. I believe she was one of the boarderline inmates because she was released onto the streets in 1977. A letter from
C. Duane Youngberg, Superintendent notified her brother of her release. I'm dong ancestry research and any information anyone has on where to obtain inmate records would be much appreciated. Ellen

If you want to talk to former patients come to royersford or spring city. That's where they all live since they were let out. I have former patients that walk by my house every day, even found a naked one in my back yard! The cops know her, so when we called, they knew before they got here who she was.

But, I am VERY surprised that they took the pregnant ones to the hospital. I don't know if any one has found the grave yards yet. They have small plaques on them, and the babies are buried there. Were do you think the babies came from? Do you think they were patients at age 1, 2 or 3?

This has a 'jail cell' look to it. This one may have been an isolation unit.

This photograph reminds me of something that I have heard of from other Soldiers who were stationed in Germany. In Germany in some of the Army Units they had something called " The Drunk Bunk".

If a male Soldier would come back to the barracks after a night on the town of drinking and chasing women and he was too drunk to figure out where his room was then the Soldiers who were pulling duty on CQ ( Charge of Quarters ) would let him sleep on "The Drunk Bunk".

Of course in the morning when the Soldier would finally wake up out his drunken stupor then he would have indentations on his face from the metal springs and there would be a mop and bucket of water waiting for him to use it to clean up the vomit too.

What a nice way to go to sleep.

Signed: An American Soldier in Germany.

Wow. This is brilliant.

FINALLY a bed that looks semi-ok to use

"This has a 'jail cell' look to it. This one may have been an isolation unit. "

Or simply a leftover bed that was stored in an empty room when the facility was being shut down.

freaky isolation unit..
never want to be in there.

isolation room/ or for violent patients id have cheved the walls for signs of rubber this looks like a ruber room to me

seen one in action ... a safe room to sleep vent untel your calm and can be reintergrated

in regard to babies at institutions...yes, some children were admitted very early in life (I am speaking in general terms, not specifically about Pennhurst). Sometimes when a clearly disabled baby was born, the doctor advised the parents to not get attached, to "put the baby in a home," and have another (hopefully normal) child. Sometimes the parents already had several older children, or had another child or two in quick succession after the disabled child, and felt that they could not provide for all their children, and that the disabled child would be better off at the state school where he would get "special" education and training (this is when there was no special education in public schools for severely delayed children and no community support services to help families keep their children at home).
Also, many developmentally delayed children are very small for their chronological age as a result of the syndrome that caused their disability. Some children the size of an average three year old may be seven or eight years old...so they might have been considered "babies" for a long time.
One of the things my work with adults who grew up in institutions taught me is that the real miracle is that so many babies are normal. Just one tiny defect on one microscopic part of one chromosome can change the person's entire life, yet the vast majority of the time, everything goes right.

Thnak you dme, Pennhurst was a drop off point for unwanted children.There was a girl placed ther in the 1920's because she was orphaned and could only speak Russian.

I FEEL SO SORRY FOR THAT GIRL! :(

it is a known fact that many children have been dropped off at a instution such as this and many others because a parent could not afford to feed or care for them..there was no children a youth and even when there was/is it is more difficult to get your children back from them than a temporary mental hospital. I have several friends that are not very old that thier mother dropped them off all the time returning for them after months of not seeing them..they now have mental problems because she always came up with an excuse to get them in...I also experianced a mother that did that not long ago say the 1990's doing the same thing! its a shame but true.

I am writing a book about my mentally retarded brother that was put in Petersburg Training School in Petersburg Virginia. He was more than abused, he was tortured. Raped in a mop closet several times by a Mr. Williams, a black man that worked there. This certainly appears to be an isolation room. When I was five I was lifted up by my Father and peered into a small window in the door. My Brother was in a padded room that was 6x6 in size. Why I was shown this I have no idea. I am 50 and it still haunts me. I am looking for other families that may have insight to the atrocities these children of God endured.

@Kathleen Fletcher
I'm sorry about all the atrocities your brother endured there. But I can't find any record of a Petersburg Training School in Petersburg, VA. Is there another name for it?