Psychiatric Hospitals

I am very interested in old psychiatric hospitals. Often otherwise known by the archaic term “insane asylums.” Prior to deciding to become a librarian, I was going to go into the field of psychology. Knowing about how those with mental illness were treated in the past made learning present therapies even more meaningful. Now, couple that interest with the advent of the publication Weird NJ…

In one of Weird NJ’s first issues (issue #9), there was an article on “Abandoned Mental Hospitals.” One of the places covered in the article was the Essex Mountain Sanatorium. (I should also mention here that I like abandoned places, too.) The Sanatorium wasn’t actually a “mental hospital,” but a place for tuberculosis patients, although it qualified for the article as the Overbrook psychiatric facility was very close by and some of its patients were in the wards of the Sanatorium. Needless to say, I had to see this place and so began my even greater interest in these old buildings. Although I can’t link to Weird NJ’s original article, here’s another from their website on the same subject.

Now, I am a very big fan of the Kirkbride design. Dr. Thomas Kirkbride developed a template upon which to build psychiatric facilities that, in theory, would blend fresh air, light and comfort to help patients – “moral treatment”. The facilities were large – spaciousness and high ceilings being part of the cure. They were also beautiful. These weren’t run-of-the-mill institutional designs; they were built at a time when government buildings were much more decorative and people were proud to have one in their town.

The first Kirkbride plan hospital was right here in New Jersey – right here in Mercer County, in fact – the Trenton Psychiatric Hospital. Trenton Psychiatric was built as a direct result of Dorothea Dix’s work to reform the treatment of the mentally ill, and began treating patients in 1848. I would love to be able to walk around that place! I’m only able to satisfy my curiosity by looking over while driving by. A frightening account of its second medical director, Dr. Henry Cotton, may be found in Madhouse: A Tragic Tale of Megalomania and Modern Medicine by Andrew Scull (able to be interlibrary-loaned). Dr. Cotton was also a character in the Cinemax series The Knick and HBO’s Boardwalk Empire, both available from Mercer County Library System (a description of his treatment, with The Knick spoilers, was featured in a The Atlantic article from 2014).

Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital

I was able to walk around another Kirkbride plan hospital in New Jersey – Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital in Morris Plains - unfortunately demolished in 2015. Greystone opened in 1876. Walking around the grounds, it was possible to look inside the abandoned areas and still see the grandeur of the buildings. I remember how incredible the chapel looked. Greystone’s most famous resident may have been Woody Guthrie. To learn more about Greystone, use hoopla to read Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital by Rusty Tagliareni.

Pennhurst State School and Hospital

A little farther afield is Pennhurst State School and Hospital in Spring City, Pennsylvania. I visited prior to it becoming a haunted attraction (with history and photography tours also available). Pennhurst also has beautiful old buildings, although not built using the Kirkbride Plan. The terrible conditions at the facility were exposed by Bill Baldini in 1968 on NBC 10 – “Suffer the Little Children”. I had good views from the Schuylkill River Trail, which went alongside the complex for part of its length.

Some other sources on the history and use of psychiatric hospitals include:

Visit the Mercer County Division of Mental Health’s webpage for mental health resources and to sign the Stigma-Free Mercer online pledge to “help end stigma associated with mental illness and addiction.”

- by Andrea, Hopewell Branch

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