Finding the Forgotten in an Insane Asylum’s Graveyard

When this country was founded, those who suffered from mental illness were accused of practicing witchcraft and being under demonic possession. Many of them were left untreated at home or sent to poor houses, imprisoned, or as with the Salem Witch Trials, put to death.

The first insane asylum in the U.S. was located in Williamsburg Virginia. Founded in 1773, Eastern State Hospital was built to deal with the “lunatics of society.”

In the 1800s, these facilities housed those who suffered from melancholy, dementia, female complaints including "suppression of menses,” masturbation, hysteria, epilepsy and chronic mania could land you in an institution for the insane – “for their own good.”

Patients/inmates were placed in rooms that were basically cells if they were deemed to be dangerous. Treatment could include restraints, shock water treatments, bleeding, strong drugs, insulin coma therapy, electroconvulsive therapy, and lobotomies.

Central State Hospital for the Insane

Insane asylums became popular in the mid-1800s and their acceptance continued until the early 1960s. In 1955, more than 560,000 patients were living in a state mental institution. It was not until President John F. Kennedy signed the Community Mental Health Centers Act of 1963 that funding was allocated to create new mental health facilities around the country. By the 1970, the number of patients at mental institutions in the U.S. was decreasing, and by 1977 only 160,000 remained institutionalized. Democratic President Jimmy carter established the Mental Health Systems Act of 1980. This act restructured federal health care centers in communities throughout the nation by strengthening ties between local, state and federal groups.

In the 1980s Republican President Ronald Regan’s sweeping budget cuts severely cut assistance for the mentally ill and most funded hospitals and group homes were closed. As states saw this funding disappear those who suffered from mental illnesses were turned out on the streets to fend for themselves. Today 20 % of prison inmates have been diagnosed with a mental illness. The national trend of moving patients out of mental hospitals and into community care has come with a price. With insufficient funding for community-based care and residential programs, the mentally ill have nowhere to go for services. This is the reason so many are now ending up in jails and prisons – facilities that are not equipped to deal with these problems.

Today, most institutions are closed, left abandoned as relics of a sordid, and at times inhumane history. And few are willing to tell the stories of those who lived there, in an attempt to pretend this era of mental health didn’t exist in our country. But some former insane asylums are trying to make reparations and educate the public about his dark time in our history. 

The Old Pathology Building

In Indianapolis Indiana, Central State Hospital for the Insane officially closed its doors in 1992 after more than 100 years of operation. The Indiana Medical History Museum, located in The Old Pathology Building on the hospital grounds is working to humanize the patients of Central State. Research is being done to attribute personal stories to those who lived in the hospital. The vast collection of brains and tumors seen floating in glass specimen jars filled with formaldehyde were removed from deceased patients and used to advance the research and understanding mental illness.

Unveiled last summer, the project is known as “Rehumanizing the Indiana Medical History Museum Specimen Collection.” A card accompanies each specimen that tells a more personal story about the patient; things like where they came from, when they were admitted and what for, and what they died of. The museum hopes this will help visitors connect with the humanity of these patients, understanding that these are not just specimens but stories of lives that should to be told about this questionable era.

The Indiana Medical History Museum is also working with Ball State University’s Applied Anthropology Laboratories to locate the missing graves of residents who lived at the institution from 1896 to 1905. Using ground-penetrating radar (GPR), students are finding the graves of patients buried in the hospital’s first cemetery located northwest on the grounds, adjacent to the Old Pathology Building. Grave markers for the cemetery were removed in the 1950s so ground crews could care for the property in a more efficient manner but the identity of hundreds of patients has been lost. A fund has been set up to assist with the cost of locating, identifying and memorializing those who were buried here.

~ Joy

Central State Hosptial (Indiana Insane Asylum) & Cemetery

It’s October - a time for hauntings, Halloween - and all things spooky.  This month, A Grave Interest will take a look at several haunted cemeteries.  Get ready as we explore some ‘lively’ places, and the people who make them so…….

Scalping in the Hospital

It was called the Indiana Hospital for the Insane, better known to Indianapolis residents as the Insane Asylum.  The hospital opened in November 1848 to house five patients. It consisted of one hospital building, situated on 100 wooded acres of land.  For the first 50 years, the hospital simply warehoused people.  There was little, if any, attempt to treat them for their problems.

Central State Hospital

By 1900, conditions for patients began to slowly improve.  In the 1920’s, the hospital was renamed Central State Hospital. Over the years, more buildings were needed to house and care for patients. Buildings were added onto and more were built until the hospital complex on the city’s west side housed over 3,000 people by the close of the 1920’s.

Seven Steeples Women's Dorm

Aerial Map of Grounds

The Central State Hospital grounds included dormitories, treatment buildings, a carpentry shop, power plants, and a fire station.   The complex also included a motel, carwash and conference center. The largest building on the campus was the Seven Steeples Women’s Dormitory. 

Old Laundry Building

Pathology (Morgue) Building

There are around 20 buildings left on the property.  The oldest  is the Old Laundry Building built in 1884.  Others include the Pathology Laboratory, also known as the Morgue, built in 1895. It is now the Indiana Medical History Museum.  The Administration Building was constructed in 1938, and the Kitchen and Dining Hall, which was built in 1959. All are considered to be historic buildings by the Department of Natural Resources, Division of Historic Preservation and Archeology.

Tunnel

Tunnel

Over five miles of concrete service tunnels, known as the catacombs, existed under the grounds.  They were used to link the buildings together.  Rumor has it that cells had been carved off the tunnels where the most violent patients were kept in chains and manacles.  It was also said that the tunnels were used so that patients could be moved without ‘fuss’ to the local jail, or a small airport located nearby, if the need arose.

Many basements under the buildings were considered dungeons in the 1800’s, places to hold patients who screamed incessantly or were criminally insane.  These “wards” lacked proper ventilation, light or heat and many died here.

Patient in Straight Jacket

Patients

Sadly, many of the people housed here did not suffer from mental insanity.  Instead, they were sent here because family members could not afford to care for them, or could not find the time necessary to take care of them. Emotional issues including stress, depression, and what we know today as bi-polar disorder, could land you here with the criminally insane.

Roof Caving In

Inside Hallway

By the 1970’s, the hospital was overcrowded and run down.  Many buildings were declared unsafe and torn down, including Seven Gables, the women’s dorm. Allegations of abuse and lack of funding helped in closing down the facility.

City's Proposed Plans

Door in Hospital

The Central State Hospital was closed in 1994. Remaining patients were sent to other hospitals around the state, to family and friends, or left to wander the streets.  The city of Indianapolis purchased the 146-acre of grounds from the State in 2003 with plans to turn it into a housing development with a cultural park.  The bust of the housing bubble seems to have put those plans on an indefinite hold.

Cemetery Grounds

Cemetery Fence

It is said that the hospital and grounds are haunted, including the Central State Hospital Cemetery, located across the street, adjacent to the Mt. Jackson Cemetery.   There are no signs to mark this place, not even a gate, just a chain-link fence surrounding it.  

Tree Stone Marks a Grave

Typical Grave Marker

A few graves are marked with stones, but the majority consist of red plastic numbers on concrete slabs.  Most of those are covered over with grass and dirt.

Cemetery Directory

A large directory is located near the north side of the cemetery, encased in brick and plastic.  It lists the last name and first initial of those known to be buried here, along with a grave number. There are said to be almost 600 interred in this 3-acre plot of land. Records were not well kept on this cemetery and the exact number interred is not known.  Many were buried without any marker.  Burials began around 1855 and ended in the mid-1940’s.  No names are known for those buried in the oldest section.

Cemetery Grounds

Trees and Grass Need Tending

The cemetery has fallen into disrepair.  A cleanup effort was held in 2010, but maintenance has not been kept up by the city and the cemetery is again being ignored.

Feelings of Being Watched

Shadowed Grounds

Mysterious people have been seen in the cemetery, dressed in hospital gowns from different time periods.  Shadows move from grave to grave. Screams have been heard coming from the hospital buildings and the grounds.  Moans and crying have also been heard.  When I was there, I had the feeling of being watched, and of definitely not being wanted in the cemetery.

Pathology Lecture

Indiana Medical History Museum

If you would like to find out more, the hospital grounds are open during the day.  The only building that is open is the Indiana Medical History Museum. At one time this building was the hospital morgue where hundreds of autopsies were performed in order to learn more about mental illness.  It is also reported to be haunted.  The museum is open to the public and tours are available.  Visit http://www.imhm.org/ for more information.

Next week, we'll visit a haunted Ohio cemetery.

~ Joy