Arcadia Publishing

Arcadia Publishing is best known for its iconic Images of America series, which chronicles the history of small towns, events, and specific topics across the country. Arcadia is home to a growing number to asylum related books, written by various authors. Below is a list of available asylum books from this author.

Byberry State Hospital

Author(s):Hannah Karena Jones
ISBN:9780738599083
On Sale Date:05/20/2013
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Book Description: Looming on the outskirts of Philadelphia County since 1906, the mental hospital most commonly known as "Byberry" stood abandoned for 16 years before being demolished in 2006. At its peak in the 1960s, Byberry was home to more than 6,000 patients and employer to more than 800. With its own self-sustaining farm, bowling alleys, barbershop, ice cream parlor, federal post office, and baseball team, Byberry was a micro-community. Throughout its history, the hospital served as an educational institution for Philadelphia's medical, nursing, and psychology students; was the site of a World War II Civilian Public Service conscientious objector unit; and a volunteering hot spot for local churches, schools, and Girl and Boy Scout troops. This book provides an unprecedented window into the good, the bad, the unusual, and the forgotten history of Byberry.

Author Bio: Hannah Karena Jones holds dual bachelor's degrees in history and creative writing from Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania and has presented her historical research at national Phi Alpha Theta and Collegiate Honors Council conferences. The images in this collection come from the Swarthmore College Peace Collection, Philadelphia City Archives, Pennsylvania State Archives, the Special Collections Research Center of the Temple University Libraries, the Library Company of Philadelphia, PhillyHistory.org, the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, and the personal collections of former staff members, among others.

Dixmont State Hospital

Author(s): Mark Berton
ISBN: 9780738545202
On Sale Date: 09/11/2006
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Book Description: Pittsburgh natives have recognized Dixmont State Hospital by its towering boiler house smokestack that stood prominently along busy Route 65. It has been a topic of curiosity, urban exploration, ghost hunts, and historical research; but prior to its closing in 1984, Dixmont State Hospital stood as a refuge to the mentally ill for three counties in western Pennsylvania. A majestic study in the Kirkbride design of asylum architecture, Dixmont was originally built by the Western Pennsylvania Hospital in 1859 as a private venture before being bought by the commonwealth. It was named for famed mental health care reformer Dorothea Dix, who was instrumental in choosing the hospital’s site—a site chosen for its tranquility and its view of the Ohio River. Dixmont was completely razed in January 2006 to make way for a multi-parcel commercial endeavor. But for those who spent time there, Dixmont was a vibrant community within a community. Through historic photographs, Dixmont State Hospital opens up this world that was off limits to the general public but was alive with festivals, celebrations, and the successful treatment of patients.

Author Bio: Mark Berton covered Dixmont State Hospital for several years during his tenure with the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and he spends his free time photographing asylum architecture. His access to Dixmont and those who were part of its history provided a unique perspective in the life of a functioning mental health facility and its demise.

Eloise: Poorhouse, Farm, Asylum and Hospital 1839-1984

Author(s): Patricia Ibbotson
ISBN: 9780738519548
On Sale Date: 06/02/2002
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Book Description: Eloise, which started out as a poorhouse, later became known as Wayne County General Hospital. From only 35 residents on 280 acres in 1839, the complex grew dramatically after the Civil War until the total land involved was 902 acres and the total number of patients was about 10,000. Today, all that remains are five buildings and a smokestack. Only one of them, the Kay Beard Building, is currently used. In Eloise: Poorhouse, Farm, Asylum, and Hospital, 1839-1984, this institution and medical center that cared for thousands of people over the years, is brought back to life. The book, in over 220 historic photographs, follows the facility's roots, from its beginnings as a poorhouse, to the founding of its psychiatric division and general hospital. The reader will also be able to trace the changing face of psychiatric care over the years. The book effectively captures what it was like to live, work, and play on Eloise's expansive grounds.

Author Bio: The author, Patricia Ibbotson, is a nurse, who worked at Eloise for over 23 years. She currently sits on the board of the Friends of Eloise, and she has been the editor of the Detroit Society for Genealogical Research Magazine for seven years.

Harrisburg State Hospital

Author(s): Phillip N. Thomas
ISBN: 9780738598277
On Sale Date: 03/11/2013
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Book Description: Harrisburg State Hospital opened in 1851 as the Pennsylvania State Lunatic Hospital, the first public institution in the state. Situated atop a hill overlooking the Susquehanna River, the original building was an early example of a Kirkbride design hospital. The facility closed in 2006 after serving the commonwealth for 155 years. Harrisburg State Hospital: Pennsylvania's First Public Asylum presents a pictorial history of the hospital from the first year of only 12 patients through the peak of state care, when the population reached over 2,500 in the 1950s. Harrisburg State Hospital was an innovative leader in the treatment of the mentally ill, pioneering new methods of therapy even before they were common practice. It was a community and a home for those whom society could not otherwise care for.

Author Bio: Phillip N. Thomas discovered Harrisburg State Hospital in 2007 after taking up a hobby photographing abandoned buildings. After his visit, he would go on to create a website dedicated to the hospital, doing the same two years later for the state hospital in Danville. This book is his culmination of five years of research into the history of Harrisburg State Hospital.

Oregon Asylum

Author(s): Diane L. Goeres-Gardner
ISBN: 9780738599885
On Sale Date: 06/17/2013
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Book Description: The Oregon State Insane Asylum was opened in Salem on October 23, 1883, and is one of the oldest continuously operated mental hospitals on the West Coast. In 1913, the name was changed to the Oregon State Hospital (OSH). The history of OSH parallels the development and growth in psychiatric knowledge throughout the United States. Oregon was active in the field of electroshock treatments, lobotomies, and eugenics. At one point, in 1959, there were more than 3,600 patients living on the campus. The Oscar-winning movie One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest was filmed inside the hospital in 1972. In 2008, the entire campus was added to the National Register of Historic Places, and the state began a $360-million restoration project to bring the hospital to modern standards. The story of OSH is one of intrigue, scandal, recovery, and hope.

Author Bio: Diane L. Goeres-Gardner is an award-winning author, historian, and lecturer. She has previously written two major books on Oregon's criminal justice system and is author of Arcadia's Images of America: Roseburg. The majority of the images in Oregon Asylum come from a variety of public sources in Oregon. The rest were photographed by Laurie L. Burke.

Spring Grove State Hospital

Author(s): David S. Helsel M.D., Trevor J. Blank
ISBN: 9780738553269
On Sale Date: 02/25/2008
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Book Description: Founded in 1797, Spring Grove State Hospital, now known as Spring Grove Hospital Center, is the second oldest continuously operating state psychiatric hospital in the country. This volume will reveal through a broad array of poignant historic images the extensive, complex, and fascinating history of Maryland’s oldest hospital. Included are interior and exterior photographs of many of the hospital’s historic buildings, as well as depictions of daily life at the hospital during a bygone era. The institution’s historic pedigree includes its role as a hospital for soldiers and sailors wounded in the Battle of North Point during the War of 1812, and Spring Grove’s Main Building may have been used to quarter soldiers during the Civil War. Once a largely self-contained asylum, Spring Grove’s history is closely tied to the crusader Dorothea Dix, as well as to many more recent treatment advances.

Author Bio: Psychiatrist David S. Helsel, M.D., serves as the current superintendent of Spring Grove Hospital Center. Trevor J. Blank is a graduate student at Indiana University’s Folklore Institute and is the founder of the Hillcrest Historical Society, a Baltimore County historic preservation group that worked to save Spring Grove’s former maximum-security building.

Traverse City State Hospital

Author(s): Chris Miller
ISBN: 9780738533896
On Sale Date: 05/02/2005
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Book Description: Northern Michigan Asylum, which opened in 1885, was known during most of its years as Traverse City State Hospital. It was run during its first decades by Dr. James Decker Munson, who left his legacy in the landscaped grounds and the medical center that today bears his name. Traverse City State Hospital served the mental health needs of a large part of Michigan for 104 years until its closure in 1989, housing a population as large as 3,000 in its many buildings.This book traces the history of this great institution, from the local and mental health context in which it was founded, through its growth, development, and decline, and finally to its renovation and preservation as a vital part of the Traverse City community. More than 200 photographs and images are provided, including many of the features and buildings long gone.

Author Bio: Author Chris Miller was active as a member of the Committee to Preserve Building 50, one of the community groups that arose to save the historic and natural features of the former Traverse City State Hospital grounds when they were threatened at the end of the 1990s. He is the author of Winona in Vintage Postcards, also available from Arcadia Publishing.