Clinton Valley Center / Clinton Valley Center

The Clinton Valley Center has served southeastern Michigan for one hundred years and is the second oldest hospital for the mentally ill in the Great Lake State. Since opening in 1878, the center has employed seven superintendents. This institution was originally named Eastern Michigan Asylum; it became Pontiac State Hospital in 1911, and adopted the name Clinton Valley Center in 1973. The different names symbolize changing concepts in the treatment of mental illness. The first patient was admitted on July 31, 1878, a day before the official opening. Treating 222 patients at its start, this hospital now serves nearly 800 patients. It has advanced from a custodial institution to a modern treatment center which offers many kinds of therapy necessary for different emotional illnesses. Elijah E. Myers, a renowned Michigan architect, designed the original hospital structure in 1875. Charles Anderson, a local architect, was responsible for the master plan of several of the residences. Smith, Hinchman and Grylls, of Detroit, drew up plans for the 1907 chapel building, which is still extant. Patients using the extensive grounds for agriculture, dairy and cattle breeding projects were a familiar sight to the citizens of Pontiac. The Clinton Valley Center trains psychiatrists, nurses and other health care workers. Receiving a World’s Fair Award in 1894 for “evidence of excellent fire protection, detached cottages for each sex, and a training school for attendants,” this center continues to provide modern facilities for the mentally ill.