Marathon County Asylum

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Marathon County Asylum
Opened 1893/1928
Demolished 1971
Current Status Preserved
Building Style Single Building
Location Wausau, WI
Architecture Style Mediterranean Revival
Alternate Names
  • Marathon County Asylum for Chronic Insane
  • Marathon County Hospital
  • Sunny Vale Infirmary
  • North Central Health Care (Current)



History[edit]

The asylum was built in 1893 for $80,000 at the end of Sturgeon Eddy Road in Wausau, at the urging of Judge Louis Marchetti, and was called the Asylum for the Chronic Insane. Built next door to the insane asylum was the Marathon County Home and Hospital which served as maternity and general hospital for poor residents. The asylum was once considered a model structure for care of mental patients. The county poor farm facility burned in 1909 and moved into the asylum complex. Fire destroyed the asylum building in 1926 which was rebuilt in 1928.

In 1939, there were 210 chronically insane persons in the asylum. The asylum operated until 1948 when it was renamed Marathon County Hospital. In 1963 it became Sunny Vale Infirmary, and a renovation of a tuberculosis sanatorium on Highway 29 became Sunny Vale Manor.

Images[edit]

Main Image Gallery: Marathon County Asylum