Rome State Custodial Asylum

Rome State Custodial Asylum
Established	1827
Construction Began	1893
Closed	1989
Current Status	Active
Building Style	Cottage Plan
Peak Patient Population	5,166
Alternate Names	Oneida County Alms house, Rome State Custodial Asylum for Unteachable Idiots, Rome State School, Rome Developmental Center, Onieda Correctional Facility

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History

Opened in 1827 as the Oneida County Poorhouse, The Rome State Custodial Asylum began as a 2 story building on the outskirts of Lynchville to house paupers and the insane. In 1893 the school shifted toward assisting the "unteachable mental defectives" as well as housing those patients it was already chartered to house and changed name to the Oneida State Custodial Asylum. In 1984 the school again changed name to the Rome State Custodial School and was developed into a "colonial system" designed around teaching job skills via labor at off site "colonies". Rome reached a peak population in 1960 of 5,166. The last resident of the facility left in October 1989 and the facility closed in November of that year. More history and pictures can be found here [1]