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Welcome to Asylum Projects, A historic asylum wiki anyone can edit. 2,450 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 Kalamazoo State Hospital The asylum was on the cutting edge of many forms of treatment. Because of its proximity to town, it established an innovative outpatient clinic in 1916 and a unique "family-care" program that placed patients in certified homes. The hospital also used colony farms, adjunct properties where patients with milder illnesses — and those who today might be considered developmentally delayed — lived in familial farm settings. (One of these was near Kalamazoo's Asylum Lake.) They often raised livestock and produced food for use at the hospital. The farms are examples of the limited treatment options for the mentally ill that were available before the 1950s. Electroshock therapy, insulin-induced comas, and some barbiturate drugs resulted in limited reversals in the thoughts and behavior of patients, he said. Click here for more... Archive, Future Featured Articles. Featured Image Of The Week Northern Michigan Asylum for the Insane was established in 1885 as the demand for a third psychiatric hospital, in addition to those established in Kalamazoo and Pontiac, Michigan, began to grow. Lumber baron Perry Hannah, “the father of Traverse City,” used his political influence to secure its location in his home town. Under the supervision of prominent architect Gordon W. Lloyd, the first building, known as Building 50, was constructed with Victorian-Italianate? style according to the Kirkbride Plan. Archive, Future Featured Images.

Featured Video The following is an October 2020 lecture presentation for the Wayne Historical Society. A short historical review of the history of the County House later known as Eloise. Other Articles With Videos, Future Featured Videos.

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.