Willard Asylum for the Chronic Insane - Ovid, New York - Luke M

In the early 19^th century, many individuals with mental illness in upstate New York were living in county-run “poorhouses, almshouses, insane asylums, and institutions (jails)” (Doran, 1978).  On April 30, 1864, the New York legislature passed an act authorizing Dr. Sylvester D. Willard to investigate the living conditions and treatment of “the insane poor” at these various locations.  Dr. Willard was the Surgeon General of New York at the time.  He found that most of these individuals suffered from “deplorable” conditions and were the victims of abuse, neglect, and suffering.  As a result of this study, a bill was signed into law in 1865 (know as the Willard Bill) that authorized the establishment of the Willard Asylum for the Chronic Insane.  

The original intent of the institution was:  (1) To transfer the “chronic insane” from the county almshouses to the Willard Asylum; (2) to transfer all discharged chronic cases from the State Lunatic Asylum at Utica to Willard (at the time, individuals could only stay at the Utica institution for a maximum of two years); and (3) all recent cases of less than one year be sent to the Utica institution first (Doran, 1978).  

The Willard Asylum was constructed at the modified site of the former New York State Agricultural College at Ovid.  The plan for the institution was a modification of the “Kirkbridge Building” (Doran, 1978).  The center building, which had a prominent cupola, housed the administration and medical offices, as well as the quarters for the superintendent and medical officers.  The “wards” for the patients extended outward on either side of the main building, all of which were connected by corridors running through the centers (Doran, 1978).  The south wing was for women, the north wing was for men, and patients were also classified and separated by anticipated levels of potential violence.  

One of the first patients was Mary Rote.  At her previous location, Mary was reported as having been crouched in a corner without any clothing, with only a blanket and no bed, for the previous ten years (Doran, 1978).  After her admission, Mary was reported as “much improved,” clothed, and “presentable at all times” (Doran, 1978).  Regarding new patients, “The first thing that was done was to remove their irons and chains… They were admitted, bathed, examined, dressed and fed.  Kindness, gentleness and understanding were substituted for indifference, neglect and, too often, brutality” (Doran, 1978).  

As the patient population grew over time, former buildings from the Agricultural College were converted into new wings.  In 1870 there were 125 men and 450 women (Doran, 1978).  In December, 1883, a reporter from the Elmira Advertiser visited all of the wards of the Willard institution and reported being, “…greatly impressed by the kindly care given the patients and the total lack of physical restraints” (Doran, 1978).  From the beginning, patients were treated with “moral treatment,””…treated with kindness, given good but not fancy food, given clothes, exercised, and protected from the outside world…If physically and mentally able, they were urged, but not forced, to work” (Doran, 1978).  Also in 1883, there were 801 patients who were willing and able to work to help support the functioning of the institution (Doran, 1978).  Jobs included, but were not limited to, food production, grounds maintenance, laundry, food preparation, facilities maintenance, and sewing.  

In 1909, there was an average of 2,345 patients and 500 employees (Doran, 1978).  There is a cemetery on the grounds for the thousands of people who died there, and the graves are marked with numbers and no names (Jacobson, n.d.).  

Willard carried on with its original mission into the the early 20^th century, however, during this time treatment methods began to change.  In 1937 insulin shock treatment and Metrazol came into use, and a few years later, electroshock treatment was substituted – in 1942, 1,443 electroshock treatments were administered (Doran, 1978). In 1955, new drugs (frequently referred to as “tranquilizing agents” at the time) were given a “prominent” role in treatment (Doran, 1978).  In the middle to later part of the 20^th century, other treatment practices included psychotherapy, occupational therapy, and rehabilitation practices (Doran, 1978).  

In 1962 there were 2,582 patients at Willard, and by the end of 1977 there were 890, due to an effort to de-institutionalize patients by moving them to family and community care whenever possible.  This trend continued until the final patient was discharged in 1995 (Jacobson, n.d.).  

I was not able to locate any instances where Willard was considered to be an outlier for poor treatment.  Despite the use of electroshock treatment and other treatments that deviated from the original method of moral treatment, there continued to be a focus on the staff treating the patients with kindness (Doran, 1978).  One example of this is The Willard Suitcases.  The staff at Willard could not bring themselves to dispose of the suitcases (and the contents of these suitcases) of patients who had passed away at Willard and had no family to claim the items (Jacobson, n.d.).  The staff catalogued the suitcases and stored them in an attic at Willard.  This gives a glimpse into the lives of some of the people who were patients at Willard.  I’ll put a link to the site below.  

When considering whether or not I would want to be treated as a patient at Willard, I would say yes.  This is taking into consideration the atrocious conditions that people with mental illness were living in at places like the county poorhouses and almshouses during the early days of Willard.  Although the institution was likely not perfect, it seemed to place an emphasis on kindness and patient engagement.  Given the “deplorable” conditions for  “the insane poor” that prompted the establishment of Willard, I would much rather receive treatment at Willard.             

Link to The Willard Suitcases Exhibit:  http://www.suitcaseexhibit.org/index.php?section=about&subsection=suitcases

This website has several historical and present-day photos of Willard, including the photo in this post:  https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/willard-asylum-for-the-chronic-insane

Doran, R. E. (1978). History of Willard Asylum for the Insane and the Willard State Hospital. http://www.asylumprojects.org/Willard.pdf.       

Jacobson, M. M. (n.d.). Willard Asylum for the Chronic Insane.  Atlas Obscura. https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/willard-asylum-for-the-chronic-insane