"There is power in a people-centered historic preservation movement. When we create a landscape that speaks truthfully about where we are and where we come from, we begin to relate to one another better, and we have greater self-awareness about our cultural and individual identities. I believe that physical and natural places in history create a multi-sensory experience that goes beyond the five senses. Preservation has a transcendent, spiritual quality that connects us to our ancestors—and our past. I think that helps to stimulate our well-being and our sense of community." Brent Leggs And what if we say that the Fergus Falls State Hospital is a significant place because of the ground-breaking Black nurse and doctors who worked and African American patients who sought treatment there? And what if we remember the story of the KKK burning a cross in Fergus Falls that could be seen from the State Hospital. And what if we say that this is a significant site because it reminds us of our Disability History in the United States? Of how mental illnesses like PTSD, alcoholism, postpartum depression, even homosexuality were treated. Of the despicable history of Eugenics in Minnesota and the United States that played out here. And what if we remember and say that this place in Fergus Falls was INSTRUMENTAL in protecting our 1st Amendment Right to Free Speech in the Supreme Court decision making it illegal to commit someone to an institution against their will without a legal hearing (Blaisdell vs. Billings, 1893). And what if we say that this complex of buildings connects us to the Women's History of our state and community? That women trained to work here as superintendents and nurses, earning a living wage. That even immigrant women who spoke no English, women from Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Germany, etc.... could get jobs here to support themselves. That the first woman to institute an Occupational Therapy program in a state-run facility did so HERE. That unwed mothers, destitute senior women, and poor women and disabled women found refuge here. That women who lost sons in the world wars and broke down from the grief of the loss came here for healing and understanding. And what if we consider the economic history of that building? The legacy of Dr. Kirkbride's idea drawn up by renown architect Warren Dunnell and then built brick by brick by the men of Otter Tail County. The masons, plumbers, carpenters, joiners, painters, foremen, tilers, window setters, groundskeepers, farmers, dairymen, diggers, blacksmiths from dozens of countries built it well to last forever. What if we said all of that. And they still tore the place down. #ThisPlaceMatters
