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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 WeekCrownsville State Hospital The hospital for the negro insane of Maryland, now known as the Crownsville State Hospital, was created by an act of the General Assembly on April 11, 1910, which made an appropriation of $100,000 for the purchase of land and the erection of buildings. Sections of the act creating the hospital, Chapter 250, Laws of Maryland, 1910, provided that there should be established in the State of Maryland an institution for the detention and care of the negro insane of the state. It was expressly provided that the hospital should not be located in Baltimore City. It was further provided that the Board of Managers of the hospital was to consist of the Governor, ex-officio; State Treasurer, Comptroller of the Treasury, and six other persons, to constitute a body corporate under the title of the " Hospital for the Negro Insane of Maryland," with the power to appoint the necessary officers and agents. The act named the following persons, who, together with the Governor, State Comptroller and State Treasurer, were to constitute the first Board of Managers of the hospital: Hugh H. Young and Thomas Parran, to serve from the date of the passage of the act until the first of May, 1912; John T. Daily and William L. Marbury, to serve until the first day of May, 1914; J. Harry Covington and Henry P. Mann, to serve until the first day of May, 1916. It was provided that the Board of Managers should be divided into three classes, one-third of whom should go out of office every two years; and the Governor should have power, in case of any vacancy occurring, to appoint a person or persons to fill such vacancy or vacancies for the balance of term of said class. It was further enacted by the General Assembly of Maryland "that the Board of Managers immediately proceed to the erection, construction and equipment of suitable buildings to care for such of the negro insane of the State of Maryland as may be sent to the said hospital from time to time, in accordance with the general provisions of the acts of the General Assembly of Maryland relative to the care and treatment of the insane of the state." Click here for more... Featured Image Of The Week
In 1867 the Ohio Legislature appointed a commission to find a site for an asylum in south-eastern Ohio. A site in Athens was found suitable. Construction began in 1867 and the Athens Lunatic Asylum was completed during 1874. Levi T. Scofield was the architect. The Athens Mental Health Center opened on January 9, 1874 on land purchased from the Coate's farm. The asylum itself was built from bricks which were fired on-site from clay dug on-site.
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Recent Message Board PostsFeatured VideoThe following twenty minute 1936 video entitled "On The Front Lines" was about the major scourge of the time, tuberculosis, and features Waverly Hills Sanitarium for most of its hospital scenes.
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Asylum News (news you can edit!)
May 28, 2014 NEW STATE PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITAL BRINGS CARE INTO THE 21ST CENTURY
- BERLIN, VERMONT – The nearly complete $38 million Vermont Psychiatric Care Hospital is a state-of-the-art mental health facility that feels all but institutional.
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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