Human Services Center 2.92

The Human Services Center in Yankton, South Dakota is a psychiatric hospital that was built in 1882. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.It was included in the National Trust for Historic Preservation's 2009 list of America's Most Endangered Places. "Founded in 1879 as the South Dakota Hospital for the Insane, the institution’s collection of neo-Classical, Art Deco and Italianate buildings have long stood vacant, and the state plans to tear down 11 of them."The institution's name has been changed several times from South Dakota State Hospital for the Insane to South Dakota Lunatic Asylum to South Dakota State Hospital, to Yankton State Hospital.History and present stateIn 1879, Governor William A. Howard considered the cities of Vermillion, Elk Point, and Canton when he finally decided on Yankton. Yankton is situated on the Missouri River and was at that time the capital of the sparsely-settled Dakota Territory (encompassing present-day North and South Dakota). The hospital was constructed at a total cost of $2,286.85. During the first six months 31 patients were admitted. In 1880, 50 patients caused overcrowding, and the hospital was also understaffed. The population of Yankton was over 3,400, a remarkable increase from the less than 50 in 1859. In 1899, a devastating fire took the lives of seventeen women patients. This led the legislature to seriously consider giving much needed funds to the hospital. This led them to build new smaller buildings, taking precautions to make the walls fireproof, and the rooms for the patients were made much smaller.