Wisconsin Central State Hospital

Wisconsin Central State Hospital
Established	1900
Opened	1911
Closed	1975
Current Status	Active
Building Style	Cottage Plan
Architect(s)	Foeller & Schober
Location	Waupan, WI
Alternate Names	Dodge Correctional Institution

History

Central State Hospital, located on the South side of Waupun, was once the site for the criminally insane. In 1977, the facility was transformed into a maximum-security adult correctional facility named the Dodge Correctional Institution. According to the Wisconsin Department of Corrections website, DCI was doubled in size in 1993. In 1996, the facility accepted its first female inmate, which made it the only facility in Wisconsin that took both male and female inmates. Though it still remains the central medical center for both males and females, the female reception center was moved to Taycheedah Correctional Institution in 2004.

Ed Gein was housed at Wisconsin Central State Hospital before being transferred to Mendota Mental Hospital. Attempted presidential assassin John Schrank was also help at Central State Hospital from 1912-1943 for his attempt to kill Theodore Roosevelt.

Cemetery

Located outside Waupun in the Township of Chester, this cemetery was the final resting place for unclaimed inmates from the Wisconsin State Prison (now Waupun Correctional Institution) and patients from Central State Hospital. It was used from 1871 to 1975. Originally, each grave had a marker bearing the grave number. In the 1980s, metal markers were installed bearing the name, number, institution, and date of death of each individual. Unfortunately, those markers have since been replaced with one large sign bearing the names and dates of death of those buried here. (The sign does not include deaths before 1898.) There are no individual markers today.

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