Sheppard and Enoch Pratt Hospital Photograph Collection

The Sheppard and Enoch Pratt Hospital depicted in this photo collection was established by merchant and philanthropist Moses Sheppard in 1853. A Quaker, Mr. Sheppard was mindful of social ills and desirous of addressing them. When enlisted by prominent social reformer Dorothea Dix to help found an institution in Maryland for the humane care of the mentally ill, Sheppard responded by obtaining a charter from the Maryland General Assembly to establish The Sheppard Asylum, which he funded. His plan stipulated courteous treatment, privacy, sunlight and fresh air for all patients; that no patient be confined below ground; that the asylum combine science and experience for the best possible curative result; and that only income, not principal, be used to build and operate the asylum. The asylum was built on farmland a few miles north of Baltimore City. Another wealthy merchant/philanthropist, Enoch Pratt, made a large bequest to The Sheppard Asylum upon his death in 1896, stipulating that the money be used to complete construction in progress, enlarge the facility to house 200 additional patients, and serve the indigent. He asked also that the name of the institution be changed to The Sheppard and Enoch Pratt Hospital. The hospital remains in operation today as one component of the statewide behavioral health provider, Sheppard Pratt Health System. [This biographical note was compiled from information presented on the website of the Sheppard Pratt Health System, http://www.sheppardpratt.org/sp_htmlcode/sp_about/sp_about.aspx, May 2012.]