Clover Bottom
About Clover Bottom
Tennessee Home and Training School for the Feeble-Minded Persons (now Clover Bottom Developmental Center - CBDC) opened in 1923 and admitted 248 persons during the first nine months of operation. By 1963 the census at Clover Bottom had reached an all time high of 1,563 and was considered to also be a working farm for the residents. A big help to Clover Bottom during the 1960’s was the opening of two sister hospitals and schools for persons with mental retardation: Greene Valley in 1962 and Arlington in 1968. Both aided in reducing the population at Clover Bottom.
The suit of Saville et al versus Treadway et al in 1975 resolved that each person with mental retardation has the right to treatment. Out of this suit, a plan was developed for Clover Bottom to provide for individualized habilitative care and training programs. Another suit at the same time did away with residents working in any area of the facility without pay.
After that point in time, the census began to drop, with a census of 766 in 1977, a census of 634 in 1987, and a census of 354 in 1997. Currently there are 161 persons residing at CBDC and the Harold Jordan Center (HJC) - (158 at CBDC and 31 at HJC).
The HJC is located on the CBDC campus. This is a forensic facility meaning that the persons admitted have a developmental disability and have been charged with a crime. These persons have been determined by the court system as incompetent to stand trial. Currently, there are 161 persons residing at CBDC and the Harold Jordan Center.
