I've left my original write up here from when this was the only page I had for Weyburn;
The Weburn Mental Hospital or Souris Valley Extended Care Centre as it was known later in it's
life is one of Canada's most notorious mental hospitals. The following was quoted from a CBC article on the facility.
"The Weyburn Mental Hospital opened in 1921 and quickly became one of Canada's most notorious psychiatric institutions.
It was the site of lobotomies, electric shock therapy, and some of Canada's controversial LSD experiments. It was here
that Dr. Humphrey Osmond coined the word "psychedelic." Virtually anywhere across Canada, if you mentioned you were
from Weyburn, there would always be somebody who would know about the hospital and say, 'Oh,' and make some comment
about either your own mental health or the mental health of the community, or just a joke about mental illness,"
remembers Schultz. In 1971, the Weyburn Mental Hospital closed its doors and patients were transferred to other
institutions."
Now I have had the opportunity to visit the site a couple times, it is very sad place. The more
I learn of it's history the more I feel that there is something strange about the property. It is almost like the tragic
events that occured at this hospital have forever left a mark on the location. I feel very uneasy while near this
facility and it remains until I leave the grounds. It is a dying breed, most comparible hospitals have been long since
abandoned and destroyed (Hospitals like Whitby Psychiatric Centre, Oxford Regional Health Centre, Riverview Psychiatric Hospital,
and Tranquille Asylum to name a few). On my most current trip I have found that the Health District is preparing to
abandone this facility, it is listed for sale, but for the most part the facility suffers from over 30 years of neglect,
and would require extensive renovations. The chances for sale of the buildings are growing slim the the replacement facility
is complete (it is located on the south side of the grounds), so the health district has began boarding up the facility.
I blew a great opportunity to check it out last year, most of the building appeared to have activity and I could have
easily just walked right in. I am sure I could have seen alot of it without any trouble, however I didn't, call me chicken
I guess.
Future trips are planned, as I impatiently wait for my opportunity to see it all.