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Mission Statement
The Mission
The mission of this site is to archive both historical and current information on asylums across the United States and around the world.
The Statement
This site is dedicated to the history of asylums in all forms. The term of asylum is applied to not only what is commonly thought of: mental hospitals, but can also be applied to sanatoriums, state training schools, reform schools, almshouses, and orphanages. These institutions have and continue to play a major part in today's society.
Everyone throughout the United States and in many other countries has in one way or another felt the touch of these institutions. These places have both directly and indirectly affected people and their families. They have shaped lives and created many popular myths about them.
With all that in mind, this site was created to help in the historical research of any institutions that can be classified as an asylum. It was created for both serious researchers, those who are doing genealogical research, and people with an interest in asylums.
Featured Article Of The WeekLong Grove Hospital In 1903 building work began to the west of the Horton Asylum for the next mental facility planned by the LCC - the fourth institution of the Epsom cluster to be built on the Horton estate. Because of the damage caused to the local country roads by the constant delivery of building materials during the construction work on the previous Asylums, the contractors, Forster & Dickie, obtained a light railway order. They purchased 40 acres of land and the necessary sidings from the London & South West Railway Company at the cost of £10,000, and built a standard gauge railway to bring in workmen from London and building supplies. The first train-load of bricks and cement was delivered by the Long Grove Light Railway in April 1905. Named after a nearby area of woodland, Long Grove Asylum opened in 1907. It had been built to almost the same design as the Bexley Hospital, as had its sister asylum, Horton Asylum. (Re-use of an already approved plan enabled the LCC to get swifter approval from the Commissioners in Lunacy than would a completely new plan.) Built of red brick with courses of yellow brick banding, the Asylum could accommodate 2000 patients. The improved financial situation of the LCC allowed more architectural embellishment and better standards of fittings and equipment than those at Bexley and Horton Asylums. The central section of the Asylum contained the service buildings - the administration block, recreation hall, kitchens, main stores and staff quarters. The 3-storey administration building was flanked by 8 male and 8 female ward blocks. The female side contained the laundry, while on the male side were the boiler house and workshops. A large semi-circular corridor (open to one side) linked all the wards, while spur corridors linked the wards to the central blocks. The site also contained a water tower, a chapel, infirmary blocks and an isolation hospital. The Medical Superintendent had his own residence, as did other members of the senior staff. Click here for more... Featured Image Of The Week
On January 6, 1930 the Oahu Asylum closed and the U.S. Army moved the 549 patients to the new Territorial Hospital in Kaneohe. In 1972 there were only 200 patients actually in residence at the State Hospital (even though the rate of first admissions has continued to climb as the population of the State soars over 750,000). Some of the older original buildings are now used by the Windward Community School.
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Recent Message Board PostsFeatured VideoLet There Be Light is a 1946 American documentary film directed by John Huston. Much of the filming was shot at Edgewood State Hospital.
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Asylum News (news you can edit!)
January 27, 2014 A kinder approach: Former Allentown State Hospital CEO is recognized for reducing restraint tactics
- The former CEO walks on the roof of the Allentown State Hospital. He is armed with his high-definition camera and decades of memories to provide context to what he sees. Each step on the roof frames a new perspective of the hospital he helped to transform. The rooms in the former psychiatric center are empty. It has been three years since the hospital closed. For Greg Smith, it is easy to reminisce. He can fill in the blanks, but there aren't many signs of what used to happen at the 100-year-old campus.
January 27, 2014 Taunton State Hospital again faces closure
- The state's plan to close the inpatient unit at Taunton State Hospital reflects a philosophical shift that emphasizes community-based services over institutional care, a mental health official said Friday. For the third straight year, the state is proposing to move all inpatient beds from Taunton State Hospital to the new Worcester Recovery Center. In each of the past two years, the state faced staunch local opposition. As a compromise struck in the Legislature, 45 beds currently remain at Taunton State, which used to have about 170.
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