Main Page

Welcome to Asylum Projects, A historic asylum wiki anyone can edit. 2,424 articles and counting

We need your help! Click here to find out how to help.

Preservation Alert Click here to see current and past preservation alerts and how you can help.

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 Week Chicago State Hospital In 1851, the county poor farm was established at the town of Jefferson, Ill., about 12 miles northwest of Chicago. The farm consisted of 160 acres of fairly improved land and was formerly owned by Peter Ludby, who located it in 1839. Additional land was purchased in 1860 and in 1884. In 1915, the land consisted of 234 acres. By November 1854, the county poorhouse was nearly finished. The building was of brick, three stories high and a basement, and cost about $25,000. In 1858, Dr. D. B. Fonda served as the physician for the poorhouse and the insane departments. At the time, the building of the insane asylum, 200 feet south of the almshouse hospital, was contemplated. Click here for more... Archive, Future Featured Articles. Featured Image Of The Week Southern Hospital for the Insane, located at Anna, Union County, founded by act of the Legislature in 1869. The original site comprised 290 acres and cost a little more than $22,0000, of which one-fourth was donated by citizens of the county. The construction of buildings was begun in 1869, but it was not until March 1875, that the north wing (the first completed) was ready for occupancy. Other portions were completed a year later. The Trustees purchased 160 additional acres in 1883. The first cost (up to September, 1876) was nearly $635,000. In 1881 one wing of the main building was destroyed by fire, and was subsequently rebuilt; the patients being, meanwhile, cared for in temporary wooden barracks. Archive, Future Featured Images.

Recent Message Board Posts For everyone asking genealogical questions, please read this message from the administrators. Hello, In this space you normally would see our forum. This had been a hold over from earlier days before we had a Facebook page. Just prior to our server issues regular users had been barely using the forum with the majority of new posts from anonymous users asking genealogy questions or spammers. The old forum software does not work with our new version while the new forum software does not carry over old comments to the new forum. As a result, the forum will be discontinued in favor of our Facebook page. If you have questions or comments you can ask them there. Asylum Projects Facebook Page If you have genealogical question here is an information page to help you. Featured Video Let There Be Light was a 1946 American documentary film directed by John Huston. The film was the final entry in a John Huston trilogy of films produced by the request of the U.S. This documentary film follows 75 U.S. soldiers who have sustained debilitating emotional trauma and depression. A series of scenes chronicle their entry into a psychiatric hospital, their treatment and eventual recovery. Much of the filming was shot at Edgewood State Hospital. The film was controversial in its extremely effective portrayal of shell-shocked soldiers from the war. It was subsequently banned after its release despite the fact that the movie was commissioned by the US Army itself, due to the potentially demoralizing effects the film might have on the soldiers. Other Articles With Videos, Future Featured Videos.