Kentucky Institution for Feeble Minded Children
| Kentucky Institution for Feeble Minded Children | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Established | 1854 |
| Opened | 1860 |
| Demolished | 1978 |
| Current Status | Closed |
| Building Style | Single Building |
| Location | Frankfort, KY |
| Peak Patient Population | 1,200 in 1947 |
| Alternate Names |
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History
Opened in 1860 as a home mentally disabled children. The institution was nothing more then a custodial care facility for most of it's history. By 1921 it housed 470 patients but the capacity was only 350. The buildings according to an annual report stated the buildings were "old & ill adapted to modern methods of work". Making matters worse was the fact that Kentucky retained it's Pauper Idiot Pension Law, a holdover from antebellum times. The law, the only of it's kind in the nation, allowed payment of $75 per year to the families of poor feeble-minded individuals in the community. In 1917, 2,352 feeble-minded people received payments, the law was repealed in 1922. By the 1920s an effort was made to pass sterilization laws for Kentucky. None were ever passed & the institution changed it's name to Kentucky Training home in 1945 and was a 1,018 bed facility. Due to funding issues and declining patient population, the hospital was closed in the 1970's with most juvenile patients being moved to the Stewart Home School and others to Eastern State Hospital.
Cemetery
At the south end of the property the cemetery remains. It contains Approximately 500 graves & most are marked "Unknown", only about 14 have names on their headstones.
