Clover Bottom Developmental Center

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Clover Bottom Developmental Center
Established 1919
Opened 1923
Closed 2015
Current Status Closed
Building Style Cottage Plan
Location Donelson, TN
Peak Patient Population 1,563
Alternate Names
  • State Home and Training School for Feeble-Minded Persons
  • Clover Bottom Hospital and School




History[edit]

Tennessee's history with institutional care began in 1923 when Clover Bottom opened its doors. Originally called the Tennessee Home and Training School for Feeble-Minded Persons, CBDC admitted 248 people in the first nine months of operation. The institution's census peaked in 1963 at 1,563.

Cemetery[edit]

A cemetery was opened soon after the institution was established. There were 250 pre-planned grave plots. During November 2012, archaeologist Dan S. Allen, IV., performed a survey and mapping project at the Clover Bottom Development Center Cemetery in the Donelson community. The project was undertaken at the request of Steve Rick, Principal of Street Dixon Rick Architecture, for the benefit of the Tennessee Department of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. The survey revealed a minimum of 185 burial locations. The names of those buried in the Clover Bottom Cemetery are confidential and have not been released by the State of Tennessee.