History 21 The Podcast - 2.18 The Anoka State Hospital with Karen Siewert

The Anoka State Hospital housed and treated mentally ill patients from 1900 to 1999 and its large, three-story cottages standing next to the Rum River are a source of fascination. As part of an oral history project in 2014, Karen Siewert talked about her time working there in the early 1960s, conditions in the overcrowded buildings, and her continued work to transform the Hospital’s cemetery into one of remembrance and dignity for the patients buried there.

TW: Mental illness and outdated treatment practices

Host Sara Given, ACHS Volunteer Coordinator and Rebecca Desens, ACHS Executive Director

History 21 The Podcast, History 21: The Podcast, PodcastSara GivenSeptember 16, 2022Anoka County Historical SocietyAnoka, Anoka State Hospital, mental illness, medical treatments, Episode 2.18, Karen Siewert

Collection Item Feature: Violet Ray Machine

This device was a high frequency generator that claimed to “counteract the causes” of illnesses by use of the “violet ray” the generator produced. It is believed Minnie Foster Goodrich purchased this machine in the 1920s. Minnie was born in Anoka County in 1865 and lived in the area her entire life, most of it in what was then called Anoka Township, today’s Coon Rapids. Family members remember her loaning the Violet Ray machine to friends and neighbors in the 1930s.

Herald ColumnsAnoka County Historical SocietyOctober 16, 2019Anoka County Historical Societymedical treatments, violet ray machine, goodrich

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