aka State Lunatic, Idiot, and Epileptic Asylum.
Milledgeville, Georgia
Established 1837, first patient admitted in 1842, still in use.
"One of the most important places in Milledgeville is Central State
Hospital. Many people from central
Georgia work in one of its many buildings. Central State Hospital,
or Central State as it is often called, is a
haven for the mentally ill and a home for war veterans. It sprawls
over many acres and provides help for
the many people who live and work there. The history of Central State
Hospital is not only about Central
State. It is about the state of Georgia caring enough to help the mentally
ill.
Central State Hospital started out as a humanitarian gesture to provide
a place for mentally ill people to
live so they would not have to reside in a jail or a prison. The early
attendants were slaves. The history of
Central State Hospital began in 1834 when Governor Wilson Lumpkin asked
the Georgia State Legislature
to care for the "idiots, lunatics, and the insane." Governor Lumpkin
was quoted as saying, "Every
government possessing the means should without hesitancy provide suitable
asylums for these most
distressed and unfortunate of human beings" in his opening address
to the Georgia State Legislature on
November 4, 1834. Because of Governor Lumpkin's speeches, on December
28, 1837, the Georgia State
Legislature passed a bill that created a "State Lunatic, Idiot, and
Epileptic Asylum." In 1842, the first
patient was admitted. He had come from Macon, Georgia, chained to the
back of a wagon. This was the
modest beginning of what has now become one of the largest employers
in the state of Georgia."
by Alexia Knox and Talecia Warren, with permission.