The Beginnings of Sunland

Sidney Johnston Catts was Florida's 22nd governor, serving from 1913-1917. Catts was interested in the social problems of Florida, which were numerous in the early part of the 20th century. A report provided by the Russell Sage Foundation identified the most acute and pressing situation as "the problem of the feeble-minded". (Note: our modern sensibilities might have guessed a few other problems would have been given more weight: racial segregation, Klan-induced violence, infectious diseases and intestinal parasites, a looming economic bust; but this was not the reality, at least to those citizens who were involved in the assessment). It was recommended that Florida follow examples set by more northern states provide for this class of citizens. In 1919, the legislature authorized the creation of "a State Institute for the Epileptic and Feeble-Minded". In 1921, the Florida Farm Colony for the Epileptic and Feeble-Minded opened in Gainesville. The city had lobbied hard and offered several thousand acres of land in an effort to win the institute. It remained the only state facility for mentally retarded children until the Sunland Centers were created in the early 1960's. Source: Steven Noll. Care and Control of the Feeble-Minded: Florida Farm Colony, 1920-1945. The Florida Historical Quarterly, 69(1); 57-80. July, 1990.

The labeling of the institute as a "Farm" "Colony" was quite intentional. The original vision for the colony was to be a self sustaining farm, with patients working in the fields and dairy. This mission was never fully realized, funding issues being a primary problem cited. The colony a reference to the separate and isolated existence of the institute on the outskirts of the Gainesville community.

In addition to the excellent and heavily referenced source cited above, I have acquired a copy of the first biennial report of the Superintendent of the Florida Farm Colony. The date on this report is 1919-1920, and lists a total of 240 patients prior to 1921. There is often some degree of conflict among official state documents, so this finding is not particularly surprising.

Above is a portrait of Governor Catts. Source: Florida State Archives, photographic collection.