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Welcome to Asylum Projects, A historic asylum wiki anyone can edit. 2,369 articles and counting

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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 Week

Brooklyn State Hospital

The main building of Kings County Lunatic Asylum, located in Flatbush, was funded by Chapter 278 of the Laws of 1852, which authorized Kings County to negotiate a loan for the extension of hospital accommodations for the care of the insane in connection with its almshouse. A further authorization, made by Chapter 255 of the Laws of 1853, provided for a loan to complete the institution under construction. This amount proved insufficient, and an additional loan was authorized by Chapter 927 of the Laws of 1855.

The building, as originally planned, was to consist of an administration building and four wings, but when it opened, only two wings had been erected. The institution received its first patients in April 1854; by the end of the first month of operation, it was caring for 178 patients. The demand for more room for patients necessitated an enlargement, and four additional wings were built, two on either side of the original main building. The first two were occupied by patients on June 1, 1861, and the latter two on July 1, 1869. To make room for more patients, a building originally erected on the almshouse grounds as a nursery was remodeled for asylum use; 267 patients were subsequently transferred there. Known as the "Hospital for Incurables," it functioned as a separate institution until May 1884, when it became part of the main asylum. Click here for more...

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Featured Image Of The Week

The hospital’s name derives from the Creeds, a family that previously farmed the site. The local railroad station on a line that ran from Long Island City to Bethpage took the name Creedmoor, apparently from the phrase “Creed’s Moor,” describing the local geography. In the early 1870s, New York State purchased land from the Creeds for use by the National Guard and by the National Rifle Association (NRA) as a firing range. The Creedmoor rifle range hosted prestigious international shooting competitions, which became the forerunner of the Palma Trophy competition. In 1892, as a result of declining public interest and mounting noise complaints from the growing neighborhood, the NRA deeded its land back to the state.

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Featured Video

In 1997, the documentary entitled Unforgotten: 25 Years After Willowbrook. It recounts what happened inside Willowbrook State School, the impact of Rivera's expose, and life afterward. Along with that, the documentary follows four people and their families before, during, and after the institution's closure. (In March 2009, a fire in a residence in upstate Wells, New York, killed four members of the "Willowbrook Class" that was featured in this film.)

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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.

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