History

History information is some background and history about the location. This is meant to be a basic summary. Below the history records you will find sources in which you can click on to find out more information. There may be multiple history records per location.

Added by: sdonley on 12/17/2024 DB#:584
Source(s):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxhi3sNDN4A

Added by: sdonley on 12/17/2024 DB#:583
Source(s):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avD7MURy2-k

The Athens Mental Health Center, in Athens County, is located on a hill across from the flowing Hocking River in Ohio. It opened in January 9, 1874 on land purchased from a local farmer named Coates. In recent years, the State Hospital campus also known as "The Ridges", has been absorbed into the Ohio University campus and now houses several of the University buildings. Clearly, lots of changes have taken place on this plot of land, but there still exists some original remnants of the old institution - and they are not wholly physical remnants.

Many years ago, mental institutions were considered peculiar places indeed. The Athens Mental Health Center was an infamous facility that was used to house the criminally insane. Various stories exist of atrocities that occurred within its walls. Beatings, tortures, and other cruel forms of punishment were apparently the norm for its day and there have even been many reports of deaths and murders occurring within the facility's walls.

Facility History

The institution was closed in the 1980's during the time when the Reagan administration closed many of the state's hospitals in order to realize budget savings. Many of the inmates were simply released on the streets and now account for much of Athens's relatively large homeless population. Ohio University acquired most of the institution's campus and many of the buildings have been or are being refurbished to be used as administration buildings. Several of the buildings are open to the public where interested parties can take guided tours and hear of the atrocities and appalling treatment the hospital's inmates were forced to endure. One of the more popular stories provides the tourists with a vivid and grim reminder of how important a "normal" functioning mind can be.

Added by: jragan on 02/01/2011 DB#:72
Source(s):
http://www.altereddimensions.net/ghosts/AthensMent...

It began operation in 1874. Within two years of its opening, the hospital was renamed as the Athens Hospital for the Insane. Later the hospital would be called the Athens Asylum for the Insane, the Athens State Hospital, the Southeastern Ohio Mental Health Center, the Athens Mental Health Center, the Athens Mental Health and Mental Retardation Center, the Athens Mental Health and Developmental Center, and then (again) the Athens Mental Health Center.

The original hospital was in operation from 1874 to 1993. Although not a self-sustaining facility, for many years the hospital had livestock, farm fields and gardens, an orchard, greenhouses, a dairy, a physical plant to generate steam heat, and even a carriage shop in the early years. The architect for the original building was Levi T. Scofield of Cleveland. Construction of the facility began in 1868 and the hospital opened on January 9, 1874.

The designs of the buildings and grounds were influenced by Dr. Thomas Story Kirkbride, a 19th century physician who authored an influential treatise on hospital design, On the Construction, Organization and General Arrangements of Hospitals for the Insane. Kirkbride buildings are most recognizably characterized by their "bat wing" floor plan and often lavish Victorian-era architecture.

The hospital grounds were designed by Herman Haerlin of Cincinnati. Some of Haerlin's other landscape designs are seen in Cincinnati's Spring Grove Cemetery and the Oval on the campus of Ohio State University in Columbus.

Haerlin also based his designs on Kirkbride's plans that stated extensive grounds with parks, lakes, and farmland were beneficial to the success of an asylum.

For many years, the hospital was Athens, Ohio's largest employer. The state hospital was eventually decommissioned and, in a land swap between the Department of Mental Health and Ohio University, the hospital's property was deeded to Ohio University. Appalachian Behavioral Healthcare, Athens Campus (as Southeast Psychiatric Hospital was renamed), still serves as a psychiatric hospital in Athens. With the original Athens Lunatic Asylum situated on a hill south of the Hocking River and the newer hospital on the north bank of the river, the two facilities are still within sight of each other.

The history of the hospital documents some of the now-discredited theories of the causes of mental illness, as well as the practice of harmful treatments, such as lobotomy. The leading cause of insanity among the male patients was masturbation, according to the annual report of 1876. The second-most common cause of insanity, as recorded in the first annual report, was intemperance and dissipation. In the hospital's first three years of operation, eighty-one men and one woman were diagnosed as having their insanity caused by masturbation. Fifty-six men and one woman were diagnosed as having their insanity caused by intemperance and dissipation during this same period of time.

For the female patients hospitalized during these first three years of the asylum's operation, the three leading causes of insanity are recorded as "puerperal condition" (51 women), "change of life" (32 women), and "menstrual derangements" (29 women).

Epilepsy was also considered a major cause of insanity and reason for admission to the hospital in the early years. The first annual report lists thirty-one men and nineteen women as having their insanity caused by epilepsy. General "ill health" accounted for the admission of thirty-nine men and forty-four women in the first three years of the hospital's operation.

The hospital closed in 1993. However, the institution of the state hospital continued to function in Athens, with patients and staff relocating to a newly constructed facility which, at the time of the transition in 1993, was called the Southeast Psychiatric Hospital. The psychiatric hospital in Athens is now named Appalachian Behavioral Healthcare.

Added by: jragan on 02/01/2011 DB#:73
Source(s):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athens_Lunatic_Asylum

Among its more colorful ghosts is one Margaret Schilling. Her case is very strange and mysterious. What is known about her is that she was a patient of the hospital who was given a fair amount of freedom to roam. One day, in December 1978 she simply did not return. Although a search was conducted, no trace of her was found. Weeks later in January, her body was discovered in an old closed off section of the hospital.

There are two versions of how she died. One states that she died from starvation, the other that she died of a heart attack. Whatever the cause, there remained on the floor a perfect outline of her body. Many attempts at cleaning the stain have been made but it always returned. This has been scientifically explained by the fact that her decaying tissues were actually absorbed into the concrete. Another part of her mystery lies in the reason why she was never found. There are many stories and accountants of what actually happened. One account claims that she was a deaf mute. There also is some debate about whether or not she was dressed when her body was discovered. Also thrown into the mix is whether or not the door was locked. While these things are mysteries, they are by no means paranormal.

What really makes the story of Margaret interesting is the number of times her ghost has been sighted. Since her strange and unexplained death, many people claim to have seen her wandering the halls. They also claim to have seen orbs and lights in the areas near where she died. There are even rumors that a young girl was haunted by the ghost of Margaret.

Throughout the years, there have been claims of people seeing faces and lights in the windows of the now vacant building. There have also been reports of strange unexplained noises and voices within the building itself. Visitors have also claimed that they feel cold spots and drafts, and have heard footsteps walking the deserted halls.

Many different teams of paranormal explorers have gone into the building to investigate these disturbances. Using a variety of equipment, their findings have included cold spots, unexplained voices and screams. Although none of the teams has reached any absolute conclusions or proof of the paranormal, they have certainly added to the ghostly mysteries that surround this old building.

Added by: jragan on 01/07/2011 DB#:25
Source(s):