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{{infobox institution
 
{{infobox institution
 
| name = Athens State Hospital
 
| name = Athens State Hospital
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| image = AL00312 lrg.jpg
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| image = Athens1.jpg
 
| image_size = 250px
 
| image_size = 250px
 
| alt = Athens State Hospital
 
| alt = Athens State Hospital
 
| caption =  
 
| caption =  
 
| established = 1867
 
| established = 1867
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| construction_began = 1868
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| construction_began = 1867
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| construction_ended =  
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| construction_ended = 1874
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| opened = 1874
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| opened =  
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| closed = 1993
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| closed =
 
| demolished =
 
| demolished =
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| current_status = [[Preserved Institution|Preserved]]
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| current_status = [[Closed Institution|Closed]] and [[Preserved Institution|Preserved]]
 
| building_style = [[Kirkbride Planned Institutions|Kirkbride Plan]]
 
| building_style = [[Kirkbride Planned Institutions|Kirkbride Plan]]
 
| architect(s) = Levi T. Scofield
 
| architect(s) = Levi T. Scofield
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| peak_patient_population = 1,749 in 1953
 
| peak_patient_population = 1,749 in 1953
 
| alternate_names =<br>
 
| alternate_names =<br>
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*Athens Lunatic Asylum
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*The Ridges / Lin Hall (Current)
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*Athens Asylum for the Insane
 
 
*Athens Mental Health and Retardation Center
 
*Athens Mental Health and Retardation Center
 
*Southeast Ohio State Hospital
 
*Southeast Ohio State Hospital
 
*Athens Mental Health Center  
 
*Athens Mental Health Center  
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*The Ridges / Lin Hall (Current)
 
 
}}
 
}}
  
 
==History==
 
==History==
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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. Herman Haerlin, a student of Frederick Law Olmstead (the designer of Central Park), was responsible for the design of the hospital and its grounds. By the turn of the twentieth century, orchards and farmland were maintained on the property, tended to by hospital residents and employees. This made the hospital nearly self-sufficient. Nevertheless, at the time of its construction it was a major boon to the economy of the city of Athens, which was able to supply milk, eggs, linens, and other necessities. Local citizens made use of Haerlin's extensive grounds, which included landscaped hills and trees, a pond, a spring, and a creek with a falls.
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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 Administration building housed offices of the Superintendent, assistant physicians, steward, and a general reception room for visitors. Two wings added to the building were used for patients. The second floor contained apartments of the medical superintendent. The third and fourth floors were used for administrative offices.
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The Administration building housed offices of the Superintendent, assistant physicians, steward, and a general reception room for visitors. Two wings added to the building were used for patients. The second floor contained apartments of the medical superintendent. The third and fourth floors were used for administrative offices.
 
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Over the years the buildings and grounds at the Athens Mental Health Center underwent many changes. In the 1920s a fire destroyed the grand ballroom. In 1924 a building was erected on the grounds for the treatment of mentally ill patients with tuberculosis. In 1928 the dairy barn went in, making the hospital almost self-sufficient. Later, in 1960, part of the farmland belonging to the hospital was acquired by Ohio University for the construction of the Convocation Center. Between 1968 and 1972 the Hocking River and State Route 682 were rerouted, eliminating the reservoir as well as four of the decorative lakes on the property.
 
  
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In 1977 multiple personality rapist Billy Milligan was sent by a Franklin County judge to Athens for treatment after his insanity plea was accepted by prosecutors--a first in American history. Milligan had kidnapped and raped three women on campus at Ohio State but had been suffering from mutliple personality disorder from early childhood. His story was told in the book ''The Minds of Billy Milligan'' by Daniel Keyes (the author of Flowers for Algernon). Billy Milligan's stay at the Ridges was among the last ever. In 1972 the last patients were buried in the asylum cemetery; by 1981 the hospital housed fewer than 300 patients. 344 acres of land were transferred to Ohio University. The final patients left the Athens Center in 1993, when they were bused to a new, much smaller hospital across town. The building stood vacant for several years while Ohio University prepared to renovate it into museum, office, and classroom space.
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By the 1990s the institution, now known as the Athens Mental Health Center, had vacated the location for a new location. Soon after, the former state asylum campus began a new life as part of nearby Ohio University. Many of the out-buildings have been renovated and put to use, while the Kirkbride now houses the Kennedy Art Museum and some studios for art students. Although the main administration building and some sections of the patient wings have been renovated, much of the Kirkbride is still empty and awaiting reuse.
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In 2001 renovation work was completed on the main building, which today is known as Lin Hall and houses music, geology, and biotechnology offices, as well as the Kennedy Museum of Art. Nearly all of the dozens of hospital buildings have been remodeled and put to use by the University.<ref>[http://www.forgottenoh.com/Ridges/ridges.html]</ref>  Although the main administration building and some sections of the patient wings have been renovated, much of the Kirkbride is still empty and awaiting reuse.
 
  
 
Like many other Kirkbrides, the building sits on top of a hill. It faces the nearby Hocking River looking toward the center of Athens and the main campus of Ohio University. The building appears to be in exceptionally good condition, although the cupolas which used to crown parts of the roof are now missing. The ward interiors don't have much in terms of remaining nineteenth-century architectural details either.<ref>[http://www.kirkbridebuildings.com/buildings/athens/ http://www.kirkbridebuildings.com/buildings/athens/]</ref>
 
Like many other Kirkbrides, the building sits on top of a hill. It faces the nearby Hocking River looking toward the center of Athens and the main campus of Ohio University. The building appears to be in exceptionally good condition, although the cupolas which used to crown parts of the roof are now missing. The ward interiors don't have much in terms of remaining nineteenth-century architectural details either.<ref>[http://www.kirkbridebuildings.com/buildings/athens/ http://www.kirkbridebuildings.com/buildings/athens/]</ref>
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File:Athens2.png
 
File:Athens2.png
 
File:Athens3.gif
 
File:Athens3.gif
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File:AL00312 lrg.jpg
 
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File:Athens State Hospital.jpg
 
 
</gallery>
 
</gallery>
  
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==Books==
 
==Books==
  
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''Asylum on the Hill: History of a Healing Landscape'', Katherine Ziff. Athens, Ohio : Ohio University Press, 2012.  [http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/782056216 Search WorldCat for library copy]
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"Asylum on the Hill: History of a Healing Landscape", Katherine Ziff
  
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==Videos==
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==Video==
 
* Video from Kirkbrides HD ~ http://www.vimeo.com/channels/KirkbridesHD
 
* Video from Kirkbrides HD ~ http://www.vimeo.com/channels/KirkbridesHD
  
 
* http://www.vimeo.com/kirkbrideshd/athens
 
* http://www.vimeo.com/kirkbrideshd/athens
  
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{{#ev:youtube|DfByk0Eh5EU}}
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<videoflash type="vimeo">25214160</videoflash>
  
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''The 1900 : voices from the Athens Asylum'' WOUB Television station : Athens, Ohio. Athens, Ohio : WOUB Center for Public Media, 2013. [http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/868184207 Search WorldCat for library copy]
 
  
 
== References ==
 
== References ==
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==Links==
 
==Links==
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*[http://cscwww.cats.ohiou.edu/~ridges/ The Ridges and the History of Mental Illness]
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*[http://www.forgottenoh.com/Ridges/ridges.html The Ridges]
 
*[http://www.cordingleyneurology.com/lobotomies.html Walter Freeman's Lobotomies at Athens State Hospital]
 
*[http://www.cordingleyneurology.com/lobotomies.html Walter Freeman's Lobotomies at Athens State Hospital]
 
*[http://www.kirkbridebuildings.com/buildings/athens/ Athens State Hospital @ Kirkbridebuildings.com]
 
*[http://www.kirkbridebuildings.com/buildings/athens/ Athens State Hospital @ Kirkbridebuildings.com]
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*[https://tedsgroup.org/ Cemetery Preservation group]
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==Records==
 
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[https://www.ohio.edu/library/collections/archives-special-collections/manuscripts/athens-mental-health-center-collections Athens Mental Health Center Collections] Mahn Center for Archives and Special Collections, Ohio University Libraries. [https://www.ohio.edu/library/collections/archives-special-collections/manuscripts/athens-mental-health-center-collections/athens-mental-health-center-policies Athens Mental Health Center Policies]
 
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[[Category:Ohio]]
 
[[Category:Ohio]]
 
[[Category:Kirkbride Buildings]]
 
[[Category:Kirkbride Buildings]]
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[[Category:Closed Institution]]
 
[[Category:Preserved Institution]]
 
[[Category:Preserved Institution]]
 
[[Category:Institution With A Cemetery]]
 
[[Category:Institution With A Cemetery]]
 
[[Category:Articles With Videos]]
 
[[Category:Articles With Videos]]
 
[[Category:Past Featured Article Of The Week]]
 
[[Category:Past Featured Article Of The Week]]

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