Remembering Northern State
A history that shouldn’t be forgotten.
On July 29th, the Port of Skagit, the Skagit County Historical Museum and the Sedro-Woolley Museum are hosting an event so that we don't forget. It is an opportunity to share the memories of this historical place so that people may remember and have a chance to honor the names of the people that lived and died there as well as the staff that maintained the grounds of this amazing piece of history.
NSH Cemetery on Helmick Rd. No gravestones standing. Photo credit: nwspirit
“Masterfully designed by Olmsted Brothers, the site included patient and staff housing, a dedicated reservoir, lumber mill, quarry, steam plant, and more than 700 acres of farming and livestock operations. By 1914, the initial 600 acres purchased in Skagit County had grown to 1,086 acres. Onsite amenities included a dedicated reservoir, a lumber mill, quarry, steam plant, agricultural fields, an orchard, green house, and a full collection of livestock. The cluster of dairy buildings and structures were so significant, they were sited on the rise overlooking the main road, becoming a point of pride and renown for the institution, whose dairy herd ranked among the best in the state.
“At Northern State Hospital, a high standard of excellence was set by the Olmsted Brothers design firm who melded the healing power of nature into their site plan. The significance of Northern State Hospital lies in the rare combination of architecturally compelling buildings, masterful landscape design, extraordinary farm assets and innovation by its superintendents who created a near self-sustaining community, one that served one of society's most misunderstood populations, the mentally ill. Moreover, it stands today as one of the few intact agricultural landscapes designed by the Olmsted Brothers.”
After the facilities closed in 1973, it stood abandoned and left to decay. In December of 2010, it was listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
“Northern State Hospital is historically significant for its connection to the broad patterns of institutionalizing the mentally ill at the turn of the 20th century as expressed in the Pacific Northwest.”
-https://www.tclf.org/northern-state-hospital-listed-national-register-historic-places
What I find most fascinating about this piece of history is that it was so well designed that, “Alongside a lumber mill and quarrying operation, the farm enabled the hospital to support itself. The Northern State Hospital’s farm not only allowed the facility to be self-sufficient, but was even productive enough to help feed other hospitals in the state. The farm had every animal one would expect to see from cows to chickens, and also canning buildings to preserve their stores. In addition to providing food and crops for the facility, the farm also gave the patients a place where they could work and socialize. At its height, the dairy farm was the largest of its kind west of the Mississippi.”
-https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/northern-state-hospital-farm
If all of this wasn’t already enough reason to go explore, they also provide a disc golf course! “On the grounds of the old Northern State Hospital's dairy farm. Beautiful and long with amazing views of the Skagit Valley. Tees are clearly marked with signs and arrows under the baskets point to the next tee. Course map at the kiosk. No water on site and only one outhouse. No trash cans on the course - please pack trash out to the can at the parking lot.” -Northern State Disc Golf Course | Professional Disc Golf Association (pdga.com)
Directions to the first tee :
I-5 to Burlington/ Mount Vernon; exit 230 onto Hwy 20 north headed towards Sedro-Woolley. Just past Sedro Woolley, take a left on Helmick Rd. 0.3 mile to parking lot and kiosk on the left. 1st tee to left of gravel footpath past kiosk.
First Tee: (-122.19584,48.52864)