Institute for Feeble Minded Youth Farm

Quick Facts

Location:

Beatrice, Nebraska

Significance:

Social History

Designation:

National Register of Historic Places

OPEN TO PUBLIC:

No

The Institution for Feeble Minded Youth Farm is nominated to the National Register under Criterion A on the state level for its association with social history. The Institution, now known as the Beatrice Developmental Center, was established in 1885 for the care of the developmentally disabled. The Farm buildings represent a period of the Institution's history when it was largely self-sufficient with the majority of dairy, meat, and produce raised and processed by residents and staff. The period of significance, c.1930 -1947, encompasses the construction of the buildings.  The Farm is also significant as the only known complex of its type in the state which provided a dormitory for residents engaged in the farm work. Additionally, the Farm is eligible as a separate because of its significant association with the evolution of institutional treatment for the developmentally disabled. The farm retains a high degree of integrity in terms of buildings and setting; it is the only known extant example of a farm complex historically associated with a public institution.