asylum tour tennessee

Abandoned Southeast

Preserving the Past | 200+ Abandoned, Historic, and Forgotten Places

Western State Mental Hospital

The Western Mental Health Institute is a historic insane asylum located in the small town of Bolivar, about 60 miles east of Memphis. The asylum was the last of Tennessee’s three major mental hospitals built in the Victorian era, constructed in 1886-1889, and the only one to remain in operation. The administration building is one of the most significant examples of Gothic Revival institutional architecture remaining in Tennessee. It was the last state mental hospital constructed and habitually the one least funded.

The architects of Western State were Harry Peake McDonald and Kenneth McDonald, brothers who practiced together in Louisville, Kentucky. Harry P. McDonald formed the firm in 1880 with his brothers, Donald and Kenneth. A Confederate veteran from Virginia, Harry graduated with a degree in civil engineering from Washington and Lee University in 1869 before relocating to Louisville in the 1870s. Western State was their first commission in Tennessee. The McDonald Brothers opened a branch office in Memphis in 1887 and won commissions across the state, including the First Cumberland Presbyterian Church (1888) at McKenzie; the Tipton County Courthouse (1890) at Covington; Union Depot (1893) at Memphis; and the Sevier County Courthouse (1895) at Sevierville. The firm had previously designed the Southwestern Lunatic Asylum (1885-1889) in Marion, Virginia. The McDonalds based the design of Western State on the Kirkbride Plan, a standardized method of asylum construction and mental health treatment advocated by Philadelphia psychiatrist Thomas Story Kirkbride.

Unique architectural elements of the Kirkbride asylums include long wings arranged in a staggered, tiered plan so that each connected building had sufficient sunlight and fresh air as well as privacy for the patients and a view of the grounds. Male and female patients were housed in separate wings, separated by a central administrative core with offices, support facilities, and staff apartments. Each wing was subdivided into wards separated by polygonal stair towers. As part of the treatment method, asylums on the Kirkbride Plan were often placed in secluded sites with expansive grounds, landscaped gardens, and farmland that were largely self-sufficient. At Bolivar, the state’s site commissioners selected a rural hilltop farm west of downtown. Construction of the $250,000 four-story facility included rooms for 300-350 patients. Officially opening on November 22, 1889, the asylum accepted 156 patients from an overcrowded Nashville institution.

In 1892, 319 patients were living at the mental hospital. Tennessee’s segregationist policies were manifest at Bolivar in the separate, two-story “Negro Ward” the state built for African American patients in 1895-1896, later expanded in 1913 with a dormitory for African American staff members. In the 1920s and 1930s, the Negro Ward was enlarged with separate buildings for administration, laundry, and receiving patients. In 1948, the original hospital building from 1895-1913 was demolished and replaced with a three-story, mid-century modern building called Luton Hall.

By 1900, the hospital was overcrowded with 594 patients. The system for securing financing for patient care limited the operating budget. In Tennessee, there were three classes of patients: the state-pay patients, the county-pay patients, and the private-pay patients. State agencies agreed to pay for 1 patient out of a population of 1000. Once this portion of the payment had been satisfied, the county was responsible for additional costs. The county payments were consistently behind, and superintendents had to engage in deficit spending to keep the hospital operating. The two most influential superintendents, Dr. Edwin Cocke and Dr. Edwin Levy often faced political pressure from state officials, but both managed to make some improvements in care offered at Western State.

During the 1920s and 1930s, patient therapy tended to be highly eclectic. Patients at Western State received the treatments available in their period of institutionalization. Dr. Edwin W. Cocke began working at the hospital in 1914 as an assistant doctor, eventually becoming a supervisor in 1918. He was the author of a 1919 Tennessee State Law that dealt with the legal aspects of psychiatric treatment and a co-producer of the first diathermy to produce artificial fever treating syphilis of the brain. These new treatments included fever therapy, prefrontal lobotomies, Metrazol injections, and insulin shock therapy, while still relying on occupational therapy.

During Cocke’s tenure, the facility was renamed Western State Hospital, and the hospital received acceptance from the AMA and American College of Surgeons. As a result of this growth, Cocke was responsible for several new buildings, including one for tuberculosis patients, Winston Hall, the Polk Building, the Doctors Apartment Building, a cottage, and the purchase of 235 acres of land. During his tenure, a telephone system was installed, a modern operating room was opened, x-ray equipment was purchased, and the kitchen was modernized. In addition, a dietitian and a dentist were hired. Dr. Cocke served dual roles as the Commissioner of the Department of Institutions and supervisor of Western State from 1933 to 1936, resigning to enter into private practice. Dr. Edwin Cocke served the longest term of any superintendent at the hospital.

The emphasis on treatment was not on care and custody, but on medical and empirical research and experimentation. Many patients were crowded into large dormitories and had little privacy. With a limited number of doctors and attendants and a large patient population, many patients were simply “warehoused.” With the severe staff limitations, patients were fortunate to receive 10 minutes per week with a psychiatrist. As doctors relied on new therapies, the architectural concerns for mental institutions changed. This change is seen in the Polk Building, originally known as the Psychopathic Hospital which opened in 1932. The classically influenced brick building was designed to hold 400 beds. The architect of the Polk Building is Wyatt C. Hedrick, who designed the Sterick Building in Memphis. Although it is a monumental structure, the building does not follow the Kirkbride Plan.

One of the darkest stories about Western State is the institution’s connection to Georgia Tann, who operated the Tennessee Children’s Home Society in Memphis. Tann, with her political connections in the Tennessee General Assembly and the local Shelby County political head, Edmond Crump, and Shelby County Family Court Judge, Camille Kelley, operated a black-market baby adoption agency that became a nationally recognized organization that would later become a national scandal. Tann began at the Mississippi Children’s Home Funding Society around 1920 and initially placed orphans for adoption but quickly realized she could charge hefty adoption fees placing children who had been kidnapped from poor women. In 1924, she started working at the Tennessee Children’s Home Society where she turned part-time baby snatching into a highly profitable business. Tann sold babies to adopting parents throughout America, including movie stars in Hollywood. She charged wealthy clients up to today’s equivalent of $100,000. Actresses Lana Turner and Joan Crawford adopted children through the agency. June Allison and her husband, Dick Powell, also adopted a child from Tann. Professional wrestler Ric Flair, in his autobiography, claimed that he had been illegally taken from his natural mother and sold through the agency to his adoptive parents.

Tann would falsify background records and place children for adoption for as little as $7 in Tennessee. Out-of-state adoptions, which most were, cost upwards of $5000. Tann allegedly made millions from the sale of babies and was chauffeured around in a Packard or Cadillac automobile, dressed in expensive clothes. One of Tann’s sources for children was women at Western State. It is rumored that babies were taken from women in the wards. Young patients were raped and forced to have sex with each other or for money with security guards and local residents. For nearly 30 years, all of the babies that were born at Western State were sent to Georgia Tann’s adoption agency.

Children were sold throughout the United States, Britain, and other countries as underage farmhands. Tann had an established channel for transporting children to England. Reports of the children being enslaved, beaten, or raped by pedophiles were widespread. Unfortunately, Tann’s phony credibility allowed her to be praised in the national press as “the foremost authority on its adoption laws.” Even in 1941, when the Society lost its national endorsement from the Child Welfare League of America because it practiced destroying adoption records, Tann remained in business through her political connections with the Tennessee Legislature.

Children at her Memphis orphanage were starved, beaten, and abused. During four months in 1945, 40-50 children died while in her care, prompting an investigation by authorities. The Tennessee Children’s Home Society was closed in 1950. Georgia Tann died from cancer that same year before the circumstances of the scandal were fully disclosed to the public. An investigation of the Society initiated by Gov. Gordon Browning implicated Judge Camille Kelly and Tann. Kelley was never prosecuted, although she lived a lifestyle well beyond the salary of a Family Court Judicial Officer. However, she did resign shortly after the release of the report. In 1966, Tennessee instituted adoption laws that allowed adopted adults to search any remaining records to locate their parents.

Patients at Western State were free to roam the grounds until the 1980s. It was not uncommon for someone to escape, or simply go missing by walking off the property. Oftentimes, the escapee would be located by security or police and brought back, although, there are instances when people disappeared and were never heard from again. Many of the patients that died at Western State are buried in several cemeteries scattered throughout the campus. Many of the early records of admission and death certificates are said to be long gone. The institution will tell you they destroy records older than 20 years, however, some patient records have been discovered inside the abandoned buildings on the property.

The Gothic Revival administration building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987 as part of the Western State Mental Hospital Historic District. The following year, the state demolished the three-story east and west patient wings of the building, leaving only the original four-story central tower and 1927 two-story rear wing. In 2008, the state demolished several other historic buildings, including the 1927 Physicians Apartment Building and two 1920s-era staff houses to construct a modern state-of-the-art $58.5 million psychiatric hospital, which opened in 2010.

The advent of modern psychotropic medications and outlawing unpaid patient labor helped dwindle the overcrowding at Western State. Antidepressants as well as new psychiatric drugs made it more feasible to release people back into the community. Today, Western State serves around 2,500 patients across 24 counties, although only 250-300 of them reside on campus. Many of the historic buildings remain vacant and in disrepair. With a staff of 650 and an annual budget of approximately $35 million, Western State is the largest employer in Hardeman County.

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79 comments

There are underground tunnels between several buildings on that site. I’ve been in them. I might be able to find some pictures on my old phone

Like Liked by 1 person

Send some over if you do!

My great grandmother was there I wish I knew more about the story It was back in the sixties I think. I wonder if there is even a way to find anything out?

Really good

I wish the article had included that the hospital is now a fully accredited me the health facility that serves over 20 counties in that area. Unfortunately what occurred in the facility when it opened was how people suffering with mental illness were treated. Tenn undertook the responsibility to improve care. I read one comment to the story where someone was looking for help. I believe our country underserves those in need of psychiatric care and access is not easy. Maybe if the article concluded in a better light, the person who wrote the comment could have realized they could have sought care there. Thank you

So true.had an aunt there in the 60’s that “committed suicide” not sure what happened but my mother never believed she killed herself. Have had several family members and co-worker in recent years that received care there a nvm D I truly bcc believe that is what saved their lives

I shivered at the sight of the wheelchair. I’ve only seen that image in games.

This is really sad. There are so many stories behind the images on this page.

I have been to this mental hospital to make a Youtube video on it. I went during the day and I still get chills just thinking about it

How did you get in

I bet it did give you the creeps. They run the place totally unethic and illegally. They treat you like it 1950 and do nothing to help their patients. It has a bad reputation. I noticed they only house 250 patients but have 600 employees. Talk about a waste of money. Overstaffed and totally illegal pratices. It’s creepy considered it was built for the wrong reasons. Many slaved mixed babies were born there and died there. Considering the connection with the horrible things done to people and their still outdated methods, I can’t believe they are still open. My ex was very abusive and tried to make it my punishment for his affairs. I always felt it needed to be shut down years ago or the staff retrained. I’m not from here but I do know wrong when I see it. I’m educated and never deserved to be abused like I have been. They certainly are behind the times around here. There were mixed slave babies brought there and died there. Nothing was wrong with children. They just weren’t wanted. I hear it was built over a sacrate Indian burial ground. The story just gets creepier. I’m sure it’s haunted. But not all bad spirits just those abanded there to a life of domb. It’s very sad excuse that their doors are still open. It was built for evil reasons and mad scientist kind of methods. Yuck…

I was housed in the children ward at the time it was Timber Springs. I was placed in and out of this facility from 1992-1995. It is amazing to see what it looks like so many years later. During my stay at one point there was a boy of the age of 4 that was sent there. There are mNy sad stories from the years I was there. Thanks for the documentary

I was hospitalized in this hospital in 1979. I was a volunteer patient I was bought there by three family members. While I was there a male patient climbed on the roof across the court yard and committed suicide. Patients in the sitting room could see could see him jump. what was so awful and eerie is that there was a gargoyle figurine very close to where he jumped jumped from,never L was well cared for. That place looked just like the pictures shown, and was as eerie then as it is now.

Wow, thank you for contributing your story.

Hello do you remember a deaf woman in her late 50 early 60 that was there her name was Mary Payne?

There are many things I encountered while i was there. It is scary how much it looks the same even in its ruins.

I wish places like this were still around. I need traditional help, not today’s pills.

I pray that you find the help you need, Hunter. Your note really touched my heart.

Thank you. May have to visit Mexico for help, as US doens’t seem to have any places remaining for “walk in” admittance anymore.

Are you still able to go see the abandoned portions of this facility?

Portions of the facility are still open so there is 24/7 security.

My great grandmother died at Western State Hospital in Bolivar, Tennessee in 1935. She died of a heart attack, but suffered from Manic Depression psychosis for at least 25 years (this information was on her death certificate. She resided there for almost 20 years until her death. It makes me so sad to think of her being there for so long, and then dying there. The family took her body and buried her in a different cemetery. She was 82 when she died.

Wow, interesting! Thank you for contributing.

Wow, my great grandmother has nearly the exact same story. Mine lived there about 3 years I think. She had a similar disability, but not sure exactly what it was called. Mine died in 1932. Our great grandmothers could have very well met. I agree, it is saddening to think about our family livin in these types of places. When she died, she was took to Dyersburg, TN, to be buried with her husband, and eventually, her children.

Karen, It is by chance that I ran across this site and postings. I was looking to see if I could find information about the cemetery associated with the hospital. You see, my maternal great grandmother’s story is exactly like yours. I was attempting to find where she was buried. Could we be 2nd cousins? I have an Ancestry.com family tree using my full name. If you have an account you can contact me in the messages. My mother’s maiden name is Bradley. What do you think?

So…I randomly stumbled upon this story on pinterest. This is very interesting! I don’t even live in this part of the country and now I am wanting to know more info lol. I am from Eastern Washington state. This is just very interesting. I hope you all find what you are looking for. Good luck on finding out your family history. I want to find out more about mine. Happy holidays!

My fraternal grandmother was a patient at Western State for about 20 years. Same story as yours. She was diagnosed as paranoid schizophrenic. He had a lobotomy at one point. Never the same. My daughter is a psyc nurse & we are going Up there to research my grandmothers records. Whole thing is so sad.

Hi, I’m interested in your research at Western State Hospital. Have you been able to find any record of your grandmother? I inquired some time ago about records for the period 1930-1960 and was told there are none. Perhaps you have had better luck?

Sorry was looking for autopsy report Contacted someone at state office and was told those records would have been kept by the hospital there and most of them were lost years ago I have not actually been to the site

My great-great grandmother died there in 1935 – general paralysis of the insane, psychosis with syphilitic meningo-encephalitis on June 17, 1935 – I would love to find her records

My great grandfather died there….spent the last five years of his life there. Death certificate didn’t mention any mental illness, but certainly he must’ve been to have been there. He died in the 1930’s as well.

Karen, that is a sad story! I was drawn to your story because my great grandmother died at Central State in Nashville. She died from pulmonary tuberculosis in 1945 at the age of 42. She was also listed as also having Manic/Depressive Psychosis for 8 years. It makes me wonder if the staff even took the time to properly do intakes, although I already know the answer to that. It would be interesting to know how many individuals were also diagnosed as having Manic Depression, as it would be easy to use as a “blanket diagnoses”.

Karen, Thank you for your story. My Great Grandfather died there close to the same time… did you get this information from the facility… or did your family have it already?

I’m looking for information on J.P. Wooten from Jackson, Madison County, TN, who was admitted to the Nashville Lunatic Asylum in Dec 1886. He might have been transferred to Bolivar when it opened. His wife was poisoned in August 1886 and he participated in the lynching of Eliza Woods who was believed to have been the poisoner. Are there any records available?

I don’t have any information on this specifically, but I’m extremely interested as my great-grandmother was a Wooten and had a large family. I live in Nashville but am originally from Cannon County.

I have not been able to find any information on the Wooten family that lived in Jackson, TN, except what I’ve found on the poisoning of Mary Chandler Wooten, J.P. Wooten’s wife. I also found that J.P. Wooten was declared insane about 3 months after the lynching of Eliza Woods, who was accused of poisoning Mary. The City Court records indicate that his father was going to pay for his transportation and his stay at the asylum, but it does not include his name. J.P. Wooten was transported to the insane asylum in Nashville and the records show that the city paid for his transportation there. After that I can’t find any more information about J.P. Wooten. I found the grave sites for Mary Chandler Wooten and her baby, Mary, who died at 18 months in 1885. Interestingly, the last name is misspelled (Wooton instead of Wooten), and the grave stones look too new to have been placed there in 1886. Another mystery to work on!

My ancestors also had their last name misspelled “Wooten” frequently. That’s an extremely interesting story. I’ll do some more research. I wouldn’t be surprised if this is a distant relative.

Did you say that part of the building is still being used. I had an uncle there for a short period of time in the early 60s!

Wooton* My phone autocorrected.

I’m looking forward to hearing about anything you discover. The story of Eliza Woods and J.P. Wooten has me mesmerized!

[email protected] I would love to know if tours are done visits can be made with love to see the building old and new and the cemetery I’ll even give you my phone number 731-223-1105 I from Union City Tennessee and was adopted would love to know more about this thanks so much for posting all the information and comments Keegan City Tennessee 38261

My mother was there from around October 1960 to 1967…She had postpartum, but they did not know that back then. So sad she did not get the help, and what she went through at this place was torture for her. I wish someone would have helped her back then. She got out 1 year in 1967, and had a decent year with her family, but died in 1968 with Asthma untreated incorrect by a doctor in Nashville.

Ms. K. Sutton, I was hoping you ha replied to my comments about our great grandmothers. They sound like the same person. Her name was Avery Bradley. We might share ancestry information. Hope you look back at this site again and see this comment.

My mother’s mom died here. Family would not tell what happened and I don’t know how to find out. Are there still records from 1940s. I feel I need to know what happened. She died when my mom was only four leaving her oldest daughter of 14 to raise the other five children. Any thoughts on how to locate records would be appreciated. Thank you.

If your mother died at Western State then there will be a death certicicate with the State of Tennessee and probably filed in Hardin County. My GR GM died there in 1935 and I have a copy of hers. It will give cause of death . Also it may give the condition for why she was there. If she was there at the time of a Census you can search Census records and find her listed. I’m using Ancestry.com for my searches. Good Luck.

I made a mistake….The County name is Hardeman County for Western State in Bolivar, TN. SORRY for the error.

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Great story..I live in the town so I know how creepy it is..I’ve looked in the Windows and felt ill…but I love it…by the way..who is the guy standing at the end of the hall..in the holding cell shot? Creepy man…lol…

Maybe not a cover up fix like some meds….but they sure didnt need the torture that they were forced 2 endure…..and ive read bout that tann women before,but ib article i read they failed 2 say she,sold kids and babies to pedophiles….that which needed hanging….there was a place like this on staten island n.y.and the horrors that these people had 2 endure were of another world…a mixed couple white women and black man lived their as kids….they married both had been deemed challanged,but werent …..they had a child (very smart one)he taught them 2 read and write….and go around the world speaking out bout things and places like this….it was a great movie….i hope all of u that were at this place r ok and doing well…

What was name of this movie please? Thank you.

My fraternal grandmother was here for a few years in the early 60’s. She suffered from dementia/altzheimers. she was non violent, just confused. My uncle went to visit her and immediately took her out of the facility. Her final years were tough as she seldom could carry on regular activities but she was no longer housed with truly insane inmates and could enjoy minor comforts not available at Bolivar.

My grandmother, Ida Mae Sullivan Inman, worked there in the 1920s. After my grandfather died in 1926, my great-grandfather Robert Broadfield Sullivan, a respected Memphis optician, evicted her and her two little girls, saying that “it didn’t look right” for a woman to be living without a man but with two children. (Translation: She had to be a prostitute.) Grandma and her two girls found housing in a rooming house, but she was desperate for a job and had no skills, having been raised in a sheltered lace-curtain Irish setting in Memphis and sent to an exclusive all-girls Catholic school. Her skills were in needlework and other ladylike domestic arts. Ida Mae went to her schoolgirl friend, Laura Baker, aka “Queenie,” to see if she could get a job at the Memphis State Institute for the Criminally Insane, because Queenie was married to a Dr. Baker, who was the director there. Dr. Baker said that he’d be glad to give Ida Mae a job, but all employees were required to live on the grounds, and no children were allowed. So my mother had to be shipped off to live with the Inman relatives in Knoxville. This was so traumatic in so many ways for both my grandmother and my mother. Both were grieving over the death of my grandfather. There is much more to the story but this is all I can bear to report at this point. I would love to verify that a Dr. Baker ever worked there as medical director.

And now that I’ve read somewhere in this thread that Western State Hospital wasn’t opened until 1931, I see that it’s very unlikely that this is the place my Nanny worked. I’m leaving my OP up so that people can still read it. You never know …

“he facility opened in December 1889 with 156 patients transferred from Nashville.” From: https://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/TN-01-069-0098 The hospital was in operation before 1890, well before the 1930’s. I hope this information helps you. Yes–Your Nanny probably did work at Western.

My grandmother worked there for years as a dietitian. I remember my dad played softball in them ball field behind the building, and I remember some of the patients coming out to sit and watch the games, and sometimes steal food from people. I’ve only been inside the building once, as a child. Scared me so bad!

Who owns this property now? How can I get in touch with the owner? Is there a way I could tour the building? I would love to be able to explore every room! So many questions, I know, but I’ve been looking to buy a place like this to take care of and open to the public for tours, etc… Please, anyone with any information, contact me at [email protected]

This facility is still owned by the state of Tennessee. I’ve inquired about getting rights to explore the grounds and they never budge. I even work for them now and they won’t let me

My grand uncle Elmer was placed here by his second wife when he was about 87. He was a kind, intelligent, hard working carpenter / construction contractor who was never out of work. He was my grandfather’s best friend as well as brother. He did not suffer from mental illness. Perhaps he developed dementia by 87 but what a sad end to a well lived life. His death certificate states that he died there from pneumonia in 1961 and lists no other contributing problems. Are past medical records available to family members?

Hello another family member looking up information about the facility. My maternal great-grandfather spent the last years of his life there after my great-grandmother, great-aunts, and grandmother could no longer manage his care in home. We only know it was following financial setbacks for the ranch our family owned/worked in Weakley County and have speculated it could have been either depression or the early stages of dementia. What a relief to find this site and treating the topic with respect and care instead of the usual of ruin porn and ghost hunting nonsense.

Were there family housing units here in the 1930’s? My ancestory list shows that my great-grandfather lived here with his wife and their daughter

hi reading these comments my heart goes out to you all. please keep in mind when considering your family members …… there s no telling if these people were even truly mentally ill at all . its hard to think but one cannot use todays standards in conjunction with any kind of mental illness and help back then . for example having dementia at 87 yrs old would certainly not be considered as lunacy as it was back then .. and who knows what symptoms were considered “depressive” back then . just cuz your family member may have been there doesnt necessarily mean they were mentally ill at all.

I have been reading all of your comments. SO, is there a way to obtain records for a patient (my grandmother) who was there in the 1960’s.

I called the hospital they said all records over 10 years had been destroyed

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for those looking for records, they can be found in the old building. there are tons of folders still on the shelves in there with everything you want to know

You are correct , I saw a YouTube video of a walk through and it showed patient records!

Just a warning. I will tell you, that if caught on the property they will call the police department and have you charged with criminal trespassing. Since it is State property which makes it private property. There is security watching 24/7. The files are being destroyed.

Would you go look for some info on my birth, my grandmother worked there, admin, and I’ve always had this feeling that my parents strong armed her in a top secret Linda way, I don’t know how to explain it. Then the Tann woman that sold children, any idea who drove the black Cadillac she was chauffeured in? I have a disgusting feeling that was my grandfather. Hope I’m wrong, but I doubt it. I don’t think that my parents are who they say they are, like identity theft and fraud through paperwork. My siblings both have extreme epilepsy, well, the people I thought were my parents, their children. I’ve always felt like I was kidnapped, my family, hard to not identify them as family, repeatedly makes me feel like I’m trash simply thrown away. My step papa was a nurse there, I believe all three of his daughters worked there and my grandmother worked there. Please, someone, help me connect the dots to it all. 601-770-4788

Hi I’m looking fpr records on mary Louise Payne. She was born on may 18 1918 and died June 28 1978. She was sent there when she was 13 or 15 she also was deaf .I wanted to know why she was sent there and never left till she pass away in june28 1978. The story that my father told us went much but that she was at a public pool and back then they usedto use the pool bathing suits. When she was done swimming she went to change out of her bathing suit her clohes was gone . Now she has no clothes on and they said she r Tried to walk home naked the police stop her and back the. They couldn’t understand her because she was deaf .I guess she showed them where she lives and my grandfather told the police he doesn’t want her and to send her away to a metal hospital. Now hearing this breaks my heart I really need to find her records my father and the rest of the family has passed away I have nobody to.find out the whole story on her .I hope somebody can help.me thank u

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/176670163/mary-louise-payne?_gl=1*1dist44*_ga*MTU1MjY2MDAwMS4xNjQ1NzM1NjE3*_ga_4QT8FMEX30*MTY2MjMzNjc5Ny43NS4xLjE2NjIzMzc5MjUuMC4wLjA . [https://images.findagrave.com/photos250/photos/2017/54/176670163_1487958448.jpg] https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/176670163/mary-louise-payne?_gl=1*1dist44*_ga*MTU1MjY2MDAwMS4xNjQ1NzM1NjE3*_ga_4QT8FMEX30*MTY2MjMzNjc5Ny43NS4xLjE2NjIzMzc5MjUuMC4wLjA . Mary Louise Payne (1918-1978) – Find a Grave… https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/176670163/mary-louise-payne?_gl=1*1dist44*_ga*MTU1MjY2MDAwMS4xNjQ1NzM1NjE3*_ga_4QT8FMEX30*MTY2MjMzNjc5Ny43NS4xLjE2NjIzMzc5MjUuMC4wLjA . Born in 18 May 1918 and died in 28 Jun 1978 Memphis, Tennessee Mary Louise Payne http://www.findagrave.com

Here is your person listed at Western State Hospital in the 1950 and 1940 Census, that I looked up on my Ancestry.com account. I also found a listing of her burial in Elmwood Cemetery in Memphis, TN. My maternal great-grandmother spend about 25 yrs. at Western State and died there. I found her death certificate and found she was buried in 1934 at the hospital’s cemetery w/o a marker. My gr-gm was already there when your person arrived. If she died at the hospital, then the death certificate would have been issued by Hardeman County. You might be able to request a copy from the Health Dept. I doubt you are I will ever be able to get any hospital records. They are most likely destroyed by now. Hope this information is useful for you.

Sent from Outlook http://aka.ms/weboutlook

James T. Hall

“Only two things are infinite: the universe, and human stupidity. And I’m not sure about the former.” ~ Albert Einstein ________________________________

Thank u .i hope I can get them .

I have been researching my family ancestry in Tennessee and I found my great great great great grandfather’s death certificate which documents him dying here in 1924 of senile exhaustion. The death certificate says he was treated here for a year and died here. He was an African American man in an insane asylum that was know for experimental practices. I want to find more information about this place.

Very adventurous place. Just another manic chapter in a roller coaster life.

Does anyone recognize the name Clara Ruth Lawson. Maiden name Robinson. Would love to know any information you might have. She was committed in the 1950s.

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My great-uncle, William Sales, was admitted to this hospital in the late 30s or early 40s and never seen again. The family has two stories about what happened to him. Some were told he fell in the bath and died. Others were told he walked off and was never seen again. If he did die there, they never attempted to return his body to the family. No death certificate or marked grave.

I was at Western State Mental Hospital in 1991 as a 15 yo BUT… I was in the Timber Springs juvenile area. I was there for not going to school, anyways we did venture over to main area from time to time for whatever reason. I remember them doing tests and stuff, having EEG stuff hooked up to my head. I dont recall anything bad happening while I was there at least not where we were. There were probably 75 kids locked up in the facility. I made a few friends while I was there, but I didnt keep in contact after leaving. One friend died in a car wreck a week after he got out, that sucked, but other than that I was only there for 21 days. It was a creepy place then.

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These 5 Tennessee Asylums Are Still Standing And Still Disturbing

Meghan Kraft

Meghan Kraft loves to travel the world, but she makes her home right here in Nashville, Tennessee. She holds a degree in English, and has worked in the digital marketing realm with companies such as Apartments.com, USA Today and HarperCollins Publishing.

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There’s something insanely fascinating about an old asylum. Something eerie and strange that continues to haunt the halls, the questions of those who used to live there and the ones who were meant to protect them. Asylums and hospitals that have dealt with the mind have made their way into popular culture and the media, allowing the horror film industry to thrive and murder mystery sales to shoot up. Did you know, though, that Tennessee has its own piece of the pie? Take a look at some crazy interesting structures still standing throughout the state. You won’t regret it.

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We have goosebumps…what about you? Have you been to any? Let us know in the comments below!

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Western State Mental Institute - 1889

About Kirkbride Buildings

Kirkbride buildings are named after Dr. Thomas Story Kirkbride , a nineteenth-century physician and asylum superintendent who authored a treatise on hospital design . This treatise and Dr. Kirkbride's other work had a far-reaching influence on the construction of American insane asylums through much of the latter half of the nineteenth century. Kirkbride buildings are most recognizably characterized by their somewhat unique "bat wing" floorplan and their often lavish Victorian-era architecture. Their design was an attempt at creating a space to facilitate the return to sanity. The buildings were conceived by Dr. Kirkbride and his contemporaries as active participants in treating the mentally ill.

Western State Mental Hospital, located near Bolivar, was the last state mental hospital to be constructed and habitually the one least funded. In December 1885 the site commissioners chose the farm of Paul T. Jones as the location for the proposed facility.

The institution's patient population grew from a few hundred in the 1890's to over 2,000 in the 1960's as patients remained hospitalized for decades. At one time, the facility covered 1,140 acres with patients occupying 7 buildings. Many were crowded into large dormitories and had little privacy. With a limited number of doctors and attendants and a large patient population, many were simply "warehoused."

Patients at Western received the treatments available in their period of institutionalization. These treatments ranged from hydrotherapy and insulin shock therapy to lobotomies and electric shock therapy. With the severe staff limitations, however, patients were fortunate to receive ten minutes per week with a psychiatrist.

The system for securing financing for patient care limited the operating budget. In Tennessee, there were three classes of patients: the state-pay patients, the county-pay patients, and the private-pay patients. State agencies agreed to pay for one patient out of a population of one thousand. Once this portion of the payment had been satisfied, the county was responsible for additional costs. The county payments consistently lagged behind, and superintendents had to engage in deficit spending to keep the hospital operating. The two most influential superintendents, Dr. Edwin Cocke and Dr. Edwin Levy, often faced political pressure from state officials, but both managed to make some improvements in the care offered at Western.

In modern times, "deinstitutionalization" produced a marked decrease in the patient population as mental health experts called for treatment of the mentally ill in local mental health clinics. Although there have been indications that this treatment has not been successful, it continues to the present time, and the indigent mentally ill continue to pose a major problem for society.

Nashville State Hospital

History [ edit ].

Tennessee’s first facility for the mentally ill, Tennessee Lunatic Asylum, opened in 1840 Nashville as the eleventh institution for mentally ill in United States. Dorothea Dix, American activist on behalf of the indigent insane, visited Tennessee in 1847 and found Nashville asylum deficient. She implored the Legislature to purchase a larger site for a new hospital. The next year Legislature appropriated $40,000 for new hospital for insane. A site was purchased on Murfreesboro Road and Donelson Pike, southeast of Nashville. Tennessee Hospital for the Insane (now Middle Tennessee Mental Health Institute) opened with 60 patients transferred from old asylum. William A. Cheatham was the hospital's first superintendent.

In 1995, the hospital moved to new facilities on Stewarts Ferry Pike. The original hospital buildings were demolished in 1999 to make way for Dell to build a customer support center and large computer assembly plant.

• A separate facility for the criminally insane opened on grounds of Central State Hospital in 1931.

Images of Nashville State Hospital [ edit ]

Main Image Gallery: Nashville State Hospital

• Demolished Institution
• Cottage Plan

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Western mental health institute, western state mental hospital.

• Location: Bolivar Tennessee Regional Essays: Tennessee Hardeman County Architect: Harry Peake McDonald Kenneth McDonald Types: psychiatric hospitals Styles: Gothic Revival Materials: pressed brick Alabama limestone

Robbie D. Jones, " Western Mental Health Institute ", [ Bolivar , Tennessee ], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVaP, 2012—, http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/TN-01-069-0098 . Last accessed: May 16, 2024.

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The Western Mental Health Institute is a historic insane asylum located in the small town of Bolivar, about sixty miles east of Memphis. The institution is anchored by the main administration building, a Gothic Revival landmark designed in the mid-1880s on the Kirkbride Plan. The facility is commonly known as the Western State Mental Hospital, or simply “Western State.” Constructed in 1886–1889, the asylum was the last of Tennessee’s three major mental hospitals built in the Victorian era, and the only one to remain in operation. Western State’s main administration building is one of the most significant examples of Gothic Revival institutional architecture remaining in Tennessee.

The architects of Western State were the brothers Harry Peake McDonald (1848–1904) and Kenneth McDonald (1852–1940) who practiced together in Louisville, Kentucky. Harry P. McDonald formed the firm in 1880 with his brothers Donald and Kenneth. A Confederate veteran from Virginia, Harry graduated with a degree in civil engineering from Washington and Lee University in 1869 before relocating to Louisville in the 1870s. Western State was the firm’s first commission in Tennessee.

The McDonald Brothers opened a branch office at Memphis in 1887 and won commissions across the state, including the First Cumberland Presbyterian Church (1888) at McKenzie; the Tipton County Courthouse (1890) at Covington; Union Depot (1893) at Memphis; and the Sevier County Courthouse (1895) at Sevierville. The firm had previously designed the Southwestern Lunatic Asylum (1885-1889) in Marion, Virginia.

The McDonalds based the design of Western State on the Kirkbride Plan, a standardized method of asylum construction and mental health treatment advocated by Philadelphia psychiatrist Thomas Story Kirkbride (1809–1883). In 1847, the New Jersey Lunatic Asylum became the first institution built on the Kirkbride Plan; soon they were built throughout the country.

Unique architectural elements of the Kirkbride asylums include long wings arranged in a staggered, tiered plan so each connected building received sufficient sunlight and fresh air as well as privacy for the patients and views of the grounds. Male and female patients were housed in their own wings, separated by a central administrative core with offices, support facilities, and staff apartments. Each wing was subdivided into wards separated by polygonal stair towers. As part of the therapeutic treatment method, asylums on the Kirkbride Plan were located in secluded sites with expansive grounds, landscaped gardens, and farmland.

At Bolivar, the state’s site commissioners selected a rural hilltop farm about two miles west of downtown. Construction of the $250,000 four-story facility included rooms for 300-350 patients. The facility opened in December 1889 with 156 patients transferred from Nashville. Like most other Kirkbride Plan asylums, Western State was built in the Gothic Revival style and is characterized by steeply pitched hipped and polygonal roofs, corbelled brick cornices with molded brick eaves, ornamental stone water tables, jerkinhead dormers, arched windows, and a one-story porte-cochere entrance with pointed arch openings. The interior features multi-colored tiled floors, vaulted ceilings, pressed tin ceilings, a turned wood stair, and a marble builder’s plaque.

The state-owned 798-acre facility at Bolivar was largely self-sufficient and grew from a few hundred patients in the 1890s to over 3,200 patients and 250 staff members by 1960. In 1910, the main administration building’s male wing was enlarged and in 1927 a new, two-story dining wing and auditorium was built at the rear. Additional buildings were constructed between the 1920s and 1950s.

Tennessee’s segregationist policies were manifest at Bolivar in the separate, two-story “Negro Ward” the state built for African American patients in 1895–1896. This was expanded in 1913 with a two-story dormitory for African American staffers. In the 1920s and 1930s, the Negro Ward was expanded with separate buildings for administration, laundry, and receiving patients. In 1948, the original hospital building from 1895–1913 was razed and replaced with a three-story, mid-century modern building called Luton Hall.

The sprawling Gothic Revival landmark was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987 as part of the Western State Mental Hospital Historic District. The following year, the state razed the three-story east and west patient wings of the main administration building, leaving the original four-story central tower and 1927 two-story rear wing. In 2008, the state demolished several historic buildings, including the 1927 Physician's Apartment Building and two 1920s staff houses in order to construct a modern state-of-the-art $58.5 million psychiatric hospital, opened in 2010.

Today, Western State serves around 2,500 patients across 24 counties, although only 250-300 of them reside on campus. Many historic buildings are vacant and in disrepair. With a staff of 650 and an annual budget of approximately $35 million, Western State is the largest employer in Hardeman County.

American Institute of Architects. “H.P. McDonald, FAIA, Obituary.” Quarterly Bulletin , 5, no. 2 (July 1904): 383.

Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation. Grains of Sand: A History of Western Mental Health Institute, 1886–1986 . Bolivar, TN: Department of Mental Health & Mental Retardation, 1986.

Jones, James B., and Claudette Stager, “Western State Hospital Historic District,” Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tennessee. National Register of Historic Places Inventory–Nomination Form, 1987. National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington, DC.

Jones, Robbie D. The Historic Architecture of Sevier County, Tennessee . Sevierville, TN: Smoky Mountain Historical Society, 1996.

Sanborn Map Company, Bolivar, Tennessee, 1891, 1913, 1941.

Yanni, Carla. The Architecture of Madness: Insane Asylums in the United States . Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1997.

Writing Credits

• Location: Bolivar, Tennessee Regional Overviews: Hardeman County Architect: Kenneth McDonald Types: psychiatric hospitals Styles: Gothic Revival Materials: pressed brick Alabama limestone

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6 Haunted Asylums You Can Actually Visit

Care to step inside?

Crumbling corridors, broken windows, the anonymous graves of former patients. Few places are as haunting as an abandoned asylum. While many of these institutions from the 19th and early 20th centuries are now gone, some still stand. A few facilities even offer tours.

Visitors to the haunted asylums below report disembodied voices, meandering apparitions, and eerie noises echoing through the halls. Care to step inside?

1. Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum - Weston, West Virginia

• Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Built in the mid-1800s, the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum  was originally intended to house as many as 250 patients. However, during the height of its use in the 1950s, nearly 2,400 souls were packed into the building, creating extremely poor living conditions. The facility was not known to treat its patients well—those who could not be “controlled” were locked in cages. Ultimately, the operation was shut down and the building completely vacated by the mid 1990s. In 2007, the hospital was sold by the state to private buyers, who now operate ghost tours in the allegedly haunted asylum. Visitors can take guided trips through the building or, if they feel especially daring, spend the night inside. Prior guests report spectral sightings, strange noises, and disembodied voices. Unsurprising, given the gruesome history of those who lived and died within the old hospital’s walls. Note: tours are on hold until March 26 while the building undergoes restoration.

Related: CORRIDOR OF HORRORS: THE TRANS-ALLEGHENY LUNATIC ASYLUM

2. Rolling Hills Asylum – East Bethany, New York

• Photo Credit: Jennifer Kirkland / Flickr

Rolling Hills Asylum , originally called Genesee County Poor Farm, was created as a “poorhouse.” The term was used throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries to describe state-run compounds that housed orphans, the poor, petty criminals, the mentally ill, and anyone else deemed unfit for mainstream society. While such asylums were ostensibly created to protect the vulnerable, they often ended up marginalizing them further—residents were called “inmates,” regardless of the reason why they lived at the poorhouse. Able-bodied inmates were required to work the land, caring for animals and sustaining the community. Many spent the remainder of their lives inside; there are up to 1,700 documented deaths at Rolling Hills, and likely many more that went unmentioned. Those who died were buried in unmarked graves on the property. Today, visitors can spend hours at the site, participating in various tours and exploring the once-populated farm. Many claim experiencing various creepy paranormal activity, ranging from disembodied voices and doors forced shut, to screams in the night and flickering shadow people. Explore if you dare!

3. Century Manor Insane Asylum –Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

• Photo Credit: Dean McCoy / Flickr

Opened in 1876, Ontario’s Century Manor Insane Asylum was a beautiful facility for the region’s psychiatric patients. The building itself, built on a hill with a stunning view of Hamilton, was thought to calm the most troubled of minds. If the scenery didn’t do the trick (which it often did not), doctors frequently turned to shock therapy and lobotomies for treatment. Other procedures included salt rubs, morphine injections, and being locked in a coffin-like crib. Making a ghastly situation even worse was the tradition of Hamilton residents treating the asylum as entertainment. Locals often brought picnic baskets to the grounds and had a laugh at the behaviors of patients. Locals also knew to listen for the steam whistle alarm, which signaled the escape of a seriously ill individual, and served as a warning to usher playing children inside. The facility became a museum in the 1980s, and is now part of the Hamilton Ghost Tour circuit.

Related: A REAL LIFE DR. JEKYLL / MR. HYDE: MURDER IN LITTLE EGYPT

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4. Waverly Hills Sanatorium – Louisville, Kentucky

The commonly held belief that Waverly Hills served as an insane asylum is inaccurate. It was actually a tuberculosis ward and, later, a home for the elderly with declining mental conditions. That said, the facility’s troubled history and its catalog of paranormal encounters make it a perfect fit for this list. Waverly Hills began in 1883 as a small, one-room schoolhouse built by Major Thomas H. Hays for the education of his daughters, as the family lived too far from existing schools. In 1908, Kentucky’s Board of Tuberculosis Hospitals purchased the property to establish a sanatorium and combat the state’s tuberculosis epidemic. Originally a two-story building, Waverly Hills Sanatorium soon expanded into a sprawling campus to support the ever-increasing number of patients. In fact, Waverly Hills was a self-contained city—complete with its own postal code. Patients, doctors, nurses, and staff were permanent residents of the complex.

Perhaps the creepiest feature of Waverly Hills is the tunnel that leads from the first floor of the sanatorium to the bottom of the hill. This subterranean passageway—later dubbed “the body chute”—was used to dispose of the dead out of eyesight of living patients. With this kind of eerie history, as well as the sheer numbers of patients who died slow and painful deaths on the premises (some reports suggest 8,000!), it’s easy to understand why urban explorers with a taste for the supernatural are attracted to Waverly Hills. Visitors can book organized tours and ghost hunting expeditions through its winding corridors and 400+ rooms.

5. Pennhurst Asylum – Spring City, Pennsylvania

• Photo Credit: Fredd Dunn / Flickr

Pennhurst State School and Hospital is another example of a self-sustaining city/asylum with a dark and troubled history. Founded in 1903, the immense campus housed society’s “feeble-minded” individuals. Upon admission, patients were “classed” as either being insane or an imbecile, epileptic or healthy, and having a dental ranking of good, poor, or treated. For years the facility provided what was, at best, subhuman treatment of its patients and residents. In 1983, nine employees were charged with abuse. Yet it wasn’t until a 1987 abuse case that the entire operation was shut down. Reports of paranormal activity and eerie sightings soon surfaced. Now, Pennhurst is reopened as Pennhurst Asylum Haunted House and can be toured by those curious to explore it.

Related: BEDLAM: THE HORRORS OF LONDON’S MOST NOTORIOUS INSANE ASYLUM

6. Willard Asylum for the Chronic Insane – Ovid, New York

Opening in 1869, Willard Asylum for the Chronic Insane was once the largest asylum in the United States, and was in operation until 1995. Part of the campus continues to operate as a New York State rehabilitation facility. Consequently, the unused portion of Willard was originally off-limits to the public. However, public interest in the site’s history, not to mention the desire to see what spirits still linger within, led officials to open the building once a year for tours. Similar to the other abandoned intuitions on this list, the fate of many of Willard’s patients are unknown—though in 1995, some 400 patient suitcases were uncovered in the attic. Fair warning: The announcements of these yearly tours are often hard to track down for anyone living outside the Finger Lakes region.

Feature photo: Bob Jagendorf / Flickr . Other photos: Wikimedia Commons, Jennifer Kirkland / Flickr , Dean McCoy / Flickr , Fred Dunn / Flickr .

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The creepiest abandoned asylum tours in the U.S.

Poor, unfortunate souls.

• Featured Trip Guides

Created by Destination Strange - May 2nd 2017

I t's hard to think of anything creepier than an abandoned sanatorium or asylum. The very concept of locking away the mentally ill, let alone in such inhumane conditions as the patients of these asylums experienced, is horrifying today. Between 1825 and 1865, the number of asylums in the US skyrocketed from nine to 62... and that wasn't even the peak. Thankfully, a better understanding of mental illness and increased accountability have rendered most of these institutions obsolete, especially in the 1950s, with the invention of antipsychotic medication... but in many cases, the buildings (often beautiful, ornate old structures) remain, a grim reminder of an era of lobotomies, straight jackets, and electroshock "treatments". Here are a few abandoned asylums you can tour today.

Rolling Hills Asylum

East Bethany, NY

Rolling Hills Asylum started its life as a poor house in 1826; it was originally created to care for orphaned children, destitute elderly, the physically handicapped, alcoholics, the mentally unstable and morally corrupt, even criminals, the homeless and the very poor. It was a functioning farm and the "inmates" (yes, they were all referred to as "inmates" regardless of their situation) did all of the work; those who were a danger to themselves or others were housed in a different building. Today, it is, without a doubt, very haunted, possibly by the spirits of those buried in the forgotten cemetery onsite. Historical tours, flashlight tours, ghost hunts, and horror movie screenings all take place here periodically... in case you've ever wanted to watch a scary movie in a haunted insane asylum.

Willard Asylum For The Chronic Insane

The Willard Asylum for the Chronic Insane opened in 1869 and quickly filled up with patients. Most of them spent the rest of their lives here on the grounds of the asylum. They were free to walk around, use the gym and bowling alley, or work on the farm, and were likely better off than they would have been at home... but they were still confined to the grounds, and many were subjected to brutal treatments. Willard was abandoned in 1995, and today the grounds are used as training facilities for the Department of Correctional Facilities. You can't really visit per se, but there's an exhibit that goes on display periodically that features the recently discovered suitcases containing the belongings of some of the inmates. Seeing what the institutionalized brought along with them, dolls, clothes, newspaper clippings, drawings... it's a humanizing experience that's incredibly powerful.

Pennhurst Asylum

Spring City, PA

As if being an actual abandoned, haunted asylum wasn't enough, Pennhurst Asylum (aka Eastern Pennsylvania State Institution for the Feeble-Minded and Epileptic) operates as a haunted house during the Halloween season. Historically, it had a massive campus with 3,350 beds and was known for its often brutal treatment of patients. In the late 60s, an expose on the harsh conditions caught widespread attention, and in the 80s, workers were charged with abuse and assault of the patients and each other. Finally, a federal abuse lawsuit forced the closure of the asylum. If you're really dedicated to ghost hunting, you can rent out the place and do some investigating on your own... if you dare!

Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum

Construction on the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum began in 1858, and was completed in 1864. The building, which was designed in the Kirkbride Plan style, was self-sufficient, meaning it had its own farm, waterworks, and even a cemetery located on the 666 acres of land (spooky!). The long staggered "wings" of the asylum were built specifically to bring in fresh-air and sunlight, and to give patients privacy, which was something many were not used to during that time period.

Initially the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum was only supposed to hold 250 patients, but at its peak in 1949 the asylum was holding upwards of 2,600 people in dangerously overcrowded conditions. At the time the hospital was home to people being treated for various conditions including, "epileptics, alcoholics, drugs addicts, and non-educable mental defectives", but by 1949 local newspapers were reporting on the poor sanitization and dangerous conditions at the hospital. Unable to keep its doors open any longer, Trans-Allegheny officially closed in May of 1994.

For many years the asylum had a reputation for being an extremely dangerous and violent place with many reports of patients attacking and even killing one another. There are stories of female employees who were raped and killed by patients not being properly monitored thanks to overcrowding and understaffing. One woman's body was even discovered after two months at the bottom of an unused staircase, where she had been killed and dumped.

Many believe that all of this death and violence that took place inside the hospital helped to create one of the most haunted buildings in the country, and often visitors report having run-ins with spirits still trapped inside. Many of those experiences include the sound of gurneys being moved, screams coming from inside the electro-shock room when there is no one else around, and strange shadows. The most active part of the building is rumored to be the fourth floor, where many have experienced banging, screaming, and even the spirit of a soldier named Jacob who has been seen walking the empty corridors in the night.

In 2007 the building was bought at auction for $1.5 million and even though the National Historic Landmark offers both historical tours and ghost tours, the survival of the building is still at risk. Guests are invited to take one (or all) of the 5 unique historical tours, and fans of the paranormal are in luck because TALA offers 8-hour ghost hunts of different wards depending on what you're interested in.

Historical tours run between March 29th to November 2nd, but make sure to book your appointment ahead of time. The hospital offers day time ghost hunts, and flashlight tours that will run you anywhere between 10 to 40 bucks, which for a 2 hour guided tour is pretty darn awesome.

St Albans Sanatorium

Radford, VA

St Albans Lutheran Boys School opened in 1892, and in 1916, it was converted into a hospital for the mentally ill. Electroshock therapy, insulin coma therapy, and hydro shock therapy didn't stop many patient suicides, and you can sense a lot of the dark energy here even just by coming onto the property. They offer tours and events on the property a few times a year, and ghost hunts are very popular at St Albans, so if you're feeling brave enough to explore, keep your eyes peeled.

Waverly Hills Sanatorium

Louisville, KY

Waverly Hills Sanatorium was actually built to house patients with tuberculosis, a very contagious disease that, in the 19th century had reached epidemic proportions. Hundreds of patients passed through the doors of the sanatorium and most never left; even though they weren't classified as mentally ill and didn't experience EST or ice baths, they still endured some pretty harsh conditions, including extreme isolation. By the time a cure was discovered in the 1940s, many had succumbed to TB here, and today, you can tour the incredibly haunted estate.

Cedar Lane Cemetery

Milledgeville, GA

Cedar Lane Cemetery is home to rows upon rows of numbered iron markers. What these markers represent are the souls of the insane that died at Milledgeville's Central State Hospital, which at one point was the world's largest insane asylum. However, the insane asylum in Milledgeville was sorely lacking in effective burial methods. It's believed that the fields around where the asylum once stood are the site of a secret mass grave, where tens of thousands of souls are interred, without identification by way of grave markers. The hospital was built in 1842 in response to social reform movements. By 1872, the ratio of patients to physicians was a shocking rate of 112-1.

During the 40s the hospital had about 10,000 patients, who lived there for about 20 years on average. During this time shock therapy was introduced on a massive scale. As if that wasn't bad enough, in 1951, lobotomies were introduced. 125 patients received lobotomies. By this point, local area newspapers began to take note of the deteriorating conditions and frequently ran reports of patient abuse. Despite all this, people continued to send unwanted patients here. By the 60s the hospital housed over 12,000 patients.

Some patients were lucky enough to be discharged from the hospital eventually, following treatment. Unfortunately, many, many others were not as lucky. For these unlucky patients, what waited for them after death was burial in an unmarked mass grave. It's believed over 30,000 of these neglected souls are now buried throughout the surrounding grounds.

In the late 1930s, an African-American cemetery was dug up and the bodies were removed, often placed in small boxes, and marked with a lone metal pole. Each new body was identified numerically. There are six cemeteries that went neglected for decades. Many consider this mass burial ground to be the world's largest for the mentally ill.

The historic marker at the cemetery states the following:

"In 1997, a cemetery restoration began here triggered a movement to memorialize patients buried at state psychiatric hospitals nationwide. After discovering nearby neglected cemeteries interred some 25,000 people, members of the Georgia Consumer Council pledge to restore the burial grounds and build a memorial. A grassroots campaign raised funds to erect the adjacent gate and display 2,000 numbered iron markers displaced from graves over the years. A life-size bronze angel was placed 175 yards south of here to serve as a perpetual guardian."

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TRANS-ALLEGHENY LUNATIC ASYLUM Weston, WV

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Tour this National Historic Landmark!

Welcome to the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum located in Historic Weston, West Virginia. This National Historic Landmark served as a sanctuary for the mentally ill beginning in the mid-1800s. This 160-year-old asylum holds fascinating stories of Civil War raids, a gold robbery, the “curative” effects of architecture, and the efforts of determined individuals to help better the lives of the mentally ill.

Tour this nationally recognized historic landmark and see how it left a lasting impression on local and national history. We offer a variety of historic and paranormal tours during our season.

We will be open Tuesday through Sunday. Our tour season will begin on March 30, 2024. for daytime historic tours. Ghost hunts of this massive building run year-round.

Open March 30th – November 10th

Historic Tours will leave every  hour on the hour . Paranormal Tours leave every 2 hours. The last 45-minute tour leaves at 5:00 p.m. and the 90-minute tour leaves at 4:00 p.m. after we reopen for walk-in tours, on March 30th, 2024.

Note: Please dress appropriately for the current weather conditions. It is hotter in the summer and colder in the winter inside the building.

America's Most Storied Haunted Location 68,000 Square Feet Nestled In The Foothills

• About OSPHPRC
• Visiting OSPHPRC
• Meet Our Staff

Voted Tennessee's Most Haunted Hospital

Welcome To OSPHPRC

Summer Sale 50% off weekday investigations June-August 

Valid on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday

Call or Text 423-633-6246

Public Investigations

Small group public event at osph limited to 12 guests/ticket june 8th.

Since our first event sold out so quickly here is a second chance at a very limited engaement.

Ever wanted to do a public hunt at one of the most haunted locations in america, but didnt want to deal with a large crowd?

Here is your chance, we are having a public hunt at the legendary Old South Pitsburg Hospital in South Pitsburg Tn. With only 12 tickets being sold you will have a chance to hang out and investiagate this active location with a very small number of guests. 

Check in begins at 6pm central and the event runs until 4am. We will be taking a break at midnight for pizza and soda. During the night we will be doing fear challenges, can you hang out with Nellie in her room, in the dark , all by yourself? How about being locked in the body box alone, while the rest of the group watches on video monitors,and the genral public watching on live stream! This is a night for you to face your fears alone in the dark with our residents. This is sure to send goosebumps down your spine. 

Our location has been featured on Destination Fear, Kindred Spirits, Paranormal Challenge and Haunted Hospitals just to name a few. Our location has claims of babies crying, full body apparitions, disembodied voices, shadow people and many more super natural phenomena. While we can’t guarantee an experience, your chances are very good as these phenomena happen on the daily.

Please bring your cameras, voices recorders and equipment if you like. Drugs and alcohol are not permitted on premises, if we see it, smell it, or have any suspicions you are under the influence you will be asked to leave and refunds will not be given. Due to the limited availability of our events there are no refunds; all sales are final. Children between the ages of 14-18 must be accompanied by an adult or legal guardian. We do allow filming of our event with the exception of the history and introduction portion of the event, absolutely no edited footage is allowed to be downloaded to any social media

Red, White and Blue Ghost Hunt July 6th

During our free roam you have the opportunity to investigate on your own or with our staff who knows the building and residents inside and out. Hang out with them and use their equipment to see whos lurking in the dark, or head off to a priavte quiet area of the building and investiagte using your won equipment.

Check in begins at 8pm, followed by a short presentation of the location and the rules everyone must abide by......then head off to investigate. 

You pick the duration of time.....wanna stay until 12? or 2?

Join us as we investigate the legendary South Pittsburg Hospital in South Pittsburg Tennessee.

Spend the night at one of the most haunted locations in America with a twist. Bring your own gear, bring your friend and face your fears of the unknown. 2 different time allotments are available for every budget. Spend up to 8 hours if your fear will let you. OSPH is famous for full body apartions, shawdow figures, disembodied voices, class a evps, and the occasion touch, will this be the night OSPH makes you a believer in all things paranormal? 

Don't have your own equipment or never done this before? No problem our staff will be stationed throughout the builidng to answer questions, help you get started on your own investigation or you can join them, sit back, watch and listen as the paranormal happens around you. Seasoned investigator? Go off on your own and explore this amazing location. 

Water, Soda and Snacks are available

No Refunds 

All Times are Central Time zone 

Check in is at 7:30pm. 

8pm walk through, introduction of hospital and history, rules of investigation

8:30pm Investigation begins

Group 1 from 8pm to Midnight

Group 2 from 8pm to 2am

ALL TIMES ARE CENTRAL TIME ZONE

Please bring your cameras, voices recorders and equipment if you like. Drugs and alcohol are not permitted on premises, if we see it, smell it, or have any suspicions you are under the influence you will be asked to leave and refunds will not be given. Due to the limited availability of our events there are no refunds; all sales are final. Children between the ages of 14-18 must be accompanied by an adult or legal guardian. We do allow filming of our event with the exception of the history and introduction portion of the event, absolutely no edited footage is allowed to be downloaded to any social media without written consent of OSPHPRC. All rights reserved to OSPHPRC. 

In The Dead Of The Heat Ghost Hunt Aug 3rd

Public Event Schedule and Ticket Sales

No upcoming events., photo gallery, better yet, see us in person.

We want to thank eveyone for their on-going support of this amazing building. We are incredibly excited to keep this building alive with tours and investigations. Please join us in supporting tenesses's rich history. By the way this location is just a tad bit haunted!

Old South Pittsburg Paranormal Research Center

1100 Holly Ave, South Pittsburg, TN 37380, US

423-633-6246

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• Immigration
• Investigates
• Cash for Clout
• Election 2024
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Asylum seekers with criminal records would be more quickly removed under Biden proposal

By: ariana figueroa - may 9, 2024 4:33 pm.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas participates in a fireside chat with Mike L. Sena during the National Fusion Center Association 11th Annual Training Event on March 28, 2024, at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C. (DHS photo by Tia Dufour)

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration announced Thursday it’s proposing changes to the asylum system that would allow immigration officials to reject asylum seekers who have a criminal record that poses a threat to national security or public safety and quickly remove them.

Those changes will occur during the initial screening stages, a senior U.S. Department of Homeland Security official said on background during a call with reporters.

The proposed rule would allow asylum officers to issue a denial within days if there is evidence that a migrant is ineligible to claim asylum due to ties to terrorism, a threat to national security or a criminal background.

“This really only applies to individuals who have a serious criminal history or who are linked to terrorist activity and that is inherently a small fraction of the individuals that we encounter or interview on a given day,” the senior DHS official said. “We don’t think that the rule will apply to large numbers of people but it will apply to the people that we are most concerned about.”

Currently, when a migrant claims asylum, they undergo a “credible fear” screening even if they have criminal charges levied against them, and depending on the severity of the charges, they can continue to seek asylum or be disqualified.

“The proposed rule we have published today is yet another step in our ongoing efforts to ensure the safety of the American public by more quickly identifying and removing those individuals who present a security risk and have no legal basis to remain here,” DHS Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement.

DHS is also issuing revised guidance to asylum officers to consider whether an asylum seeker can relocate to another part of their country where they fear persecution, known as internal relocation. This was implemented under the Trump administration by Ken Cuccinelli and the Biden administration rolled that policy back.

The new guidance “will ensure early identification and removal of individuals who would ultimately be found ineligible for protection because of their ability to remain safe by relocating elsewhere in the country from which they fled,” according to a DHS press release.

The Biden administration is dealing with the largest number of migrant encounters at the U.S.-Mexico border in 20 years , and has faced continued intense criticism about its immigration policies from Republicans and presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.

Congressional Republicans have passed legislation to reinstate hard-line Trump-era immigration policies, walked back a bipartisan border security deal and recently impeached Mayorkas .

The public comment period on the notice for the proposed rule will be from May 13 to June 12. The senior DHS official said the agency anticipates the proposed rule to be finalized this year and quickly implemented.

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Ariana Figueroa

Ariana covers the nation's capital for States Newsroom. Her areas of coverage include politics and policy, lobbying, elections and campaign finance.

Tennessee Lookout is part of States Newsroom , the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.

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Kings of Leon's Caleb Followill on the band's 'most Tennessee' record they've ever made

Kings of Leon singer and guitarist Caleb Followill describes the band's ninth studio album that released May 10, "Can We Please Have Fun" with words like "solid." "Honest." "Happy."

And "local."

"I made a point in the writing to make sure that I was honest and local with all of my references," Followill told The Tennessean. "So I'm not singing about California or New York. Everything is very Nashville based. I reference Sylvan Park and Sperry's Steakhouse. So, yeah, I feel like this is the most Tennessee record we've ever made."

Originally from Memphis, Caleb along with brothers Nathan and Jared and cousin Matthew, all call Nashville home and have written and recorded multiple other records here. But Caleb Followill says this one may be his favorite for a number of reasons beginning with the mindset.

"My favorite thing about this album is the fact that we went into it with with something in mind," he said. "We had a goal to do something that was great and something that was bigger than what we had done before and the fact that we accomplished that — and we still feel like there's meat on the bone is great. We still have songs that didn't make the cut that we can't wait to get in and record at some point."

Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.

'Can We Please Have Fun?' I think they just did.

The five words that make up the album title aren't random or flippant. They honestly set the tone for the mentality that permeated the band throughout the writing and recording the follow-up to 2021’s "When You See Yourself."

This time, the Grammy-winning band members wanted to be sure they enjoyed the process. Being in between record labels at the time freed them up to create without any parameters.

"It was just kind of a message that I had for the guys, you know, 'can we please have fun?' Because I wanted us to enjoy the process. I really felt like the material was going to be solid and I didn't want us to get in our own way and second guess things. I had a feeling if we all got on the same page, we were actually gonna do what we set out to do in the beginning.

"Our main objective is to create something that, that, like I say, brings people together and, and, uh, makes people happy."

Backstory: Kings of Leon sign with Capitol Records, announce new album, tour to kick off 2024

New foundation: Musician Marcus King announces Curfew Foundation for mental health and addiction

New label, new tour, new music, new perspective

The band recently signed a new record deal with Capitol Records and will later this year embark on a 26-city world tour that will bring the guys home to Nashville's Bridgestone Arena Sept. 26.

Followill said the band has enjoyed doing everything themselves from conceptualizing the tour to merchandise and music videos.

"There's that level of excitement because everything has our fingerprints on it. And we're going to carry that over into live show. We're not just bringing you a concert. We're going to try to bring some theater and we're really just trying to take everything up about 10 notches."

He said after enduring COVID, when it was possible all of the band's opportunities could go away, the Followills emerged from that experience with a new respect for any and all opportunities that lie ahead.

"So if people are going to get out of their house and out of their comfort zones and spend their hard-earned money to come watch us play a concert, I want them to leave there saying 'I can't wait till they come back to town so we can do it all over again.'"

Kings of making rock music out of Nashville

The Followills were among the early pioneers of making rock music out of Nashville as opposed to New York or Los Angeles. They just happened to live here, but being in Nashville could have been a help or a hinderance in the early days.

Followill said it was a little bit of both.

"We were definitely the rock band in Nashville," he said. "Now there's, there's a few more familiar faces around here, but, it was helpful in the fact that there was studios and there were a lot of people that ware writing country songs or playing on country songs or producing country records who at least back in the day they all kind of wanted to be rockers."

He said there was a support system in place that bands in other cities didn't have. Followill remembered the rock music scene being a bit "underground," but it was still better than being in a town where it's hard to find a place to buy a guitar.

"We used the benefits of being here and at the same time, we definitely got some funny looks for the way that we were dressing around town."

Nashville Rocks is a new series by music writer Melonee Hurt that explores all of the people making rock music out of Nashville. We’ll share can’t-miss stories and go behind the scenes with the artists, writers, producers and players keeping rock alive from Nashville. Tune down, turn it up and dig in.

DI outdoor track and field 1st round selections

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NCAA.com | May 12, 2024

• 2024 SEC softball: Bracket, schedule, scores, TV times for the tournament

The Florida Gators won the 2024 SEC softball conference tournament on May 11 at Jane B. Moore Field in Auburn, Alabama. The Gators defeated No. 5 Missouri to claim their sixth SEC tournament championship and tie Alabama for most conference tournament wins in program history.

The Gators earn an automatic bid into the 2024 NCAA tournament bracket, which will be revealed Sunday, May 12 at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2. We're tracking all the automatic DI softball qualifiers and conference tournaments here.  

2024 SEC conference tournament bracket

Click or tap here for a closer look at the bracket  

2024 SEC conference tournament schedule

All times listed in ET. Times are subject to change.

• Game 12 – No. 2 Florida 6, No. 5 Missouri 1
• Game 1 - No. 13 Ole Miss 7,  No. 12 Kentucky 2
• Game 2 -  No. 8 LSU 3 , No. 9 Alabama 2 (14 innings)
• Game 3  -  No. 5 Missouri 3 , No. 13 Ole Miss 1
• Game 4 – No. 7 Georgia 6 , No. 10 Auburn 5
• Game 5 – No. 11 South Carolina 8 , No. 6 Mississippi State 4
• Game 6 – No. 8 LSU 2, No. 1 Tennessee 1
• Game 7– No. 5 Missouri 3, No. 4 Arkansas 1 
• Game 8 – No. 2 Florida 9,  No. 7 Georgia 4 
• Game 9 – No. 3 Texas A&M 3,  No. 11 South Carolina 2
• Game 10 – No. 5 Missouri 2, No. 8 LSU 1 (F/8)
• Game 11 – No. 2 Florida 7, No. 3 Texas A&M 3

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Randy Travis brings 'More Life Tour' to Ryman Auditorium in June

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WZTV) — Country musician Randy Travis announced he is coming to Nashville's historic Ryman Auditorium this June to unofficially start CMA Fest .

The singer is bringing his "More Life Tour" to the venue on June 5 alongside his original touring band and special guest vocalist James Dupré. This comes after the artist released a studio song earlier this month after more than a decade.

The show will include musical performances of the artist's chart-topping hits accompanied by video features from his brilliant career in music, film and television. Although Travis will not perform himself because of aphasia he was left with after a 2013 stroke, he and his wife Mary will be present on stage throughout the entire show.

Dupré and the band will perform all 16 of Travis’ well-known number one songs including “On The Other Hand,” “Forever and Ever, Amen” and “Three Wooden Crosses.”

Presale begins Thursday, May 16 at 10 a.m. and public tickets will be available on Friday, May 17 at 10 a.m. Fans can purchase tickets here.

Follow FOX Nashville on Facebook , X , Instagram and TikTok !

Tennessee Whiskey Trail: What to know when planning your custom trip

Of all the spirits, American whiskey has one of the biggest stories to tell. The story of Tennessee whiskey in particular seems to have only just begun, and the rest of the country is taking notice.

That's in part because of the whiskey's allure. Immortalized in song and championed by a growing number of smart, young distillers and consumers, Tennessee whiskey is having a momen t.

In 2022, the Tennessee Whiskey Trail, a collaborative effort put together by more than 30 Tennessee distillers, welcomed 7.8 million visitors into statewide distilleries. That's an increase of 1.3 million visitors over 2019. To say interest in Tennessee whiskey is on the rise is an understatement, said Whiskey Trail executive director Charity Toombs.

The Tennesee Whiskey Trail links together more than two dozen distilleries in a whiskey road that runs from the mountainous eastern border to the barbecue-steeped culture of Memphis in the west. It's as much a celebration of the state itself as it is of its whiskey.

"It's an adventure, and that's what we invite guests to do, is immerse themselves in these adventures and to partake in and enjoy the spirits and the distillers who call Tennessee home," Toombs said.

The iconic Jack Daniel Distillery and its scenic Lynchburg environs often serve as a starting point. But Toombs said that, as visitors fan out across the state, they're often charmed by the lesser-known distilleries. The state and its diverse topography from end to end is its own draw.

Among the smaller whiskey makers on the trail is Brushy Mountain Distillery, set in a historic former state penitentiary wedged in a narrow mountain valley. Woodbury's Short Mountain Distillery , set on a 300-acre working farm, boasts nearby falls and hiking trails. And Bootleggers Distillery, situated on the North Carolina-Tennessee border, has as a backdrop Smoky Mountain ridges, which blaze with color in the fall.

Experiential distillery tours providing far more than a snifter of booze appeal to younger consumers, Toombs said.

"We're seeing that even in the distillery experiences," she said. "It's not just going to the distillery for a tasting. These distilleries are truly trying to create immersive experiences."

Tennessee Whiskey Trail organizers have seized on that thirst for more, creating trail itineraries for music lovers, holiday shoppers and outdoor enthusiasts. One popular route takes visitors close to natural waterfalls and hiking trails.

Their guides help break the trail into manageable bites. With so much ground to cover, visiting all 28 stops takes real dedication.

"We had a guest that was from the U.K. who started the trail in 2017 and completed it in 2020," Toombs said. "He took three international trips to complete the trail."

For subscribers: Tennessee whiskey industry is old and giant — but also new and fledgling

Tips for taking the Tennessee Whiskey Trail trek

Plan your trip: Consider an itinerary. Find curated trips and trail routes at tnwhiskeytrail.com/trip-planner , including Waterfalls and Whiskey , Urban Getaway and Outdoor Adventurer . Or pick your trail visit based on region.

Get your passport: The official Tennessee Whiskey Trail Passport is your guide to getting around. Download your digital passport at tnwhiskeytrail.com/passport , then collect stamps digitally by “checking in” to distilleries along the trail. Or pick up a hard copy at a Tennessee distillery. Collect stamps at each distillery visit and redeem your completed passport for a commemorative gift. 

Download your trail map: There's a handy Google Maps version of the Tennessee Whiskey Trail. Download it at tnwhiskeytrail.com/maps-downloads and hit the highway.

Study up before you go: Check out a directory of the distilleries at tnwhiskeytrail.com/distilleries . Make sure to visit each website and see what kind of arrangements you need to make before hitting the road. If you need to book tours in advance, for example, you'll want to know before your show up at the distillery's doorstep.

See what Tennessee has to offer: Mix up your Whiskey Trail experience. Try starting the day with a distillery in a rural area, such as the Jack Daniel Distillery in Lynchburg. End your day at an urban distillery, such as Corsair and Nelson's Green Brier Distillery , both located just an hour and a half from Lynchburg in downtown Nashville's growing Marathon Village .