Client:
ASC Development
Project:
Dixmont State Hospital
Location:
Kilbuck Township, Allegheny County
Awards:
CDC played a part in a WQED Television News Special Report titled: Dixmont
Our Role:
Phase I Archaeological Survey, Effect. Report, MOA, Documentation, Exhibit
CDC conducted a Phase I Cultural Resource Survey for the former Dixmont State Hospital in Kilbuck Township. One of the hospital’s buildings, Reed Hall has been listed on the National Register. The building is significant as one of the nation’s first hospitals built for the mentally ill and for its association with Dorothea Lynde Dix, a prominent social reformer. Reed Hall was designed by a famous local architect, Joseph Kerr, who used the nationally known Kirkbride Plan as a basis for his plans for Reed Hall.
Additional Interest: The owner of the site found Dixmont’s time capsule, a two-gallon glass jar, filled with papers, books, a 1663 coin, and a bronze medal. CDC was given permission to document the contents and condition of the materials including a 1663 coin and a bronze medal. Dixmont has been ravaged by vandals, demolitions, and a devastating fire set in the chapel of Reed Hall.
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