So, Eastern State Hospital is a hospital for adults with mental illness that was built in Medical Lake around 1900 (Medical Lake is about 15 miles West and South of Spokane). When it first opened, they had over 2,000 patients and a whole bunch of different buildings to house them all. Now they have around 300 patients and really emphasize that the hospital is kind of a last resort and the goal is get people out of there and back into the community. For a while they would bury the people right by the hospital and there are 2 cemeteries.
Medical Lake, the city, was named after the actual lake. The people that lived here, (maybe Native Americans first?), used to believe the lake was medicinal, thus Medical Lake.
So they built the hospital right by the lake and for a while they would pump water up from the lake to use in hydrotherapy- not sure exactly what that was. It may have involved saunas or other types of approaches to "soak the mental illness out".
It's a beautiful lake, but pretty small. They used to have a trolley that would bring thousands of people from Spokane to the lake and then they would ferry them around on it.
We saw lots of deer, great blue herons, and wild turkeys.
I hope I get the job just for the scenery :)
It was fun to learn more about this area and see some new places. 
The weather here has been awesome lately too. Still no snow that has stuck more than a day, and it has been about 45 degrees all week.
P.S. Sorry about the inconsistent posting... I'll have to work on that.
P.S. Sorry about the inconsistent posting... I'll have to work on that.
2 comments:
That looks like an awesome place with an interesting history. I hope you get the job! Also, the next photo I see of Medicine Lake better be of you in a kayak!
Do you know if they have any hot springs around there. Maybe I need to take a swim in the Lake and see if it would help with my pain.
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