The Norwich State Hospital, originally established as the Norwich State Hospital for the Insane, later shortened to the Norwich Hospital, was a psychiatric hospital located in Preston and Norwich, Connecticut. It opened its doors in October 1904Connecticut. Norwich Hospital for the Insane. Report of the Norwich Hospital for the Insane to the Governor for the two years ended September 30, 1906. State of Connecticut Public Document no. 51. p. 9. and operated until October 10, 1996. Throughout the near-century it operated, it housed geriatric patients, chemically dependent patients, and from 1931-1939, tubercular patients. The hospital, which sits on the banks of the Thames River, began with a single building on 100 acres of land, and expanded to over 30 buildings and 900 acres at its peak. A 70 acre property including the hospital was listed as a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.
After the closure of the hospital in 1996 all remaining patients were transferred out, and the property was left unused and abandoned. Multiple parties expressed interest in the property, and in 2009, the State of Connecticut sold the 393 acres of the Norwich State Hospital site to the town of Preston for $1 and with the sale the town of Preston agreed to perform the needed environmental remediation of the property before any development was to begin on the site. The town of Preston reached an agreement in May 2016 with the Mohegan Tribe to develop the property into the Preston Riverwalk. This is described by the Mohegan Tribe as a "non-gaming destination with outdoor and indoor attractions, hotel and retail space, restaurants, housing, a marina, an RV Park and more".
Currently the grounds of the State Hospital are undergoing remediation and demolition work in preparation for the planned Preston Riverwalk. The Mohegan Tribe has stated that the Administration building will be preserved and restored as part of the project.
History Development of the grounds
In October, 1904 when the hospital first opened, it held 95 patients and was a single building. The facility quickly outgrew its meager beginnings, and by fall of 1905, it held 151 patients and had expanded its housing by adding two additional buildings. The original building was soon converted to administrative offices. In 1907, a third patient building was opened, and over the next eight years, there would be the addition of thirteen structures to the grounds.Corey Sipe, "Associated Content", 11/02/2006, 06/06/2010 The hospital began to branch out, no longer creating housing intended only for patients, but for hospital physicians, a laboratory, an employees club, a main kitchen and various other structures to support the every-day workings of the hospital. Like most mental hospitals at that time, it was self-sufficient, a barn, two garages, a paint shop and a greenhouse were also added. By the end of the 1930s, over twenty buildings had been added to the grounds.
To provide an identification system, each building was originally assigned a letter name. The original campus had ward buildings grouped in pairs and designated as "North" for female patients or "South" for male patients. Around 1940, each building was given a name in honor of the founding superintendents of the American Psychiatric Association and well-known mental health advocates such as Thomas Story Kirkbride and Dorothea Dix. Later buildings were named after recognized contributors to the hospital, including Connecticut governors Abraham Ribicoff and John Davis Lodge. The Ronald H. Kettle Center opened in 1960 as the new medical-surgical facility and was the largest building on the property. Built like a general hospital, it reflected the then-modern belief that mental illness could be treated biologically on a short-term stay, thus reducing the need for antiquated long-term care wards. The Ribicoff Research Center was built perpendicular to Kettle to facilitate the discovery of new treatment techniques. Gradually, as the number of patients and employees began to decrease, when a new structure was built, an older one would be closed, and by the early 1970s, only 7 of the original buildings were still in use, the others used for either storage or abandoned completely. As the process of deinstitutionalization progressed, a new law required all patients' cases to be reviewed every two years. This, along with threats of strike from the union, lead to the hospital vacating many more of its buildings in 1979. By the time the hospital closed in 1996, only a fraction of the campus was still operating. All patients were now housed in the Kettle building along with geriatric patients in Seymour. The Gallup building continued to house the Boneski Treatment Center for chemical dependency, and other buildings still in use up to closure included Administration, Lodge, Russell, Ribicoff, the chapel, utility buildings, and employee housing facilities across the street.
Due to the large number to structures and the hundreds of acres they stood on, the majority of buildings were connected by a series of underground passageways. The main purpose of these tunnels were for the utilities, however, they were often used to transport patients from one area to another. In the mid 2000's, the tunnels became a means of transportation for trespassers who hope to explore the grounds of the hospital undetected by the security officers who have been hired by the state to patrol the vacant site.
Timeline of changes and patient census (1904 to 1996) 1904-Established as Norwich State Hospital for the Insane, patient population was 95 1904-Henry M. Pollock, M.D. became Superintendent 1905-Establishment of a training school for nurses 1913-Patient population was 998 1916-Patient population was 1,227 1917-Franklin Wilcox, M.D. became Superintendent 1918-Patient population was 1,231 1920-Patient population was 1,341 1926-Name was changed to Norwich State Hospital 1928-Elijah S. Burdsall, M.D. became Superintendent 1929-Patient population was 2,175 1930-Patient population was 2,422, training school for nurses closed due to inability to meet the standards of the State Board of Nurse Examiners 1934-Chester A. Waterman, M.D. became Superintendent 1939-Patient population was 2,918. 1939-Governor Baldwin and the State Legislature form the Commission on the Treatment and Care of People Afflicted with Physical or Mental Disabilities. First order of business was the investigation of conditions at Norwich State Hospital. 1940-William A. Bryan, M.D. became Superintendent 1941-For the first time since opening, discharges of patients (917) exceeded the admissions of patients (626) 1942-Superintendent Bryan responds to the staffing crisis during World War II by using conscientious objectors Carini, Esta, et al. The Mentally Ill in Connecticut: Changing Patterns of Care and the Evolution of Psychiatric Nursing 1636-1972. Hartford : State of Connecticut, Dept. of Mental Health, 1974. p. 178-179.Sareyan, Alex. The Turning Point: How Men of Conscience Brought About Major Change in the Care of America's Mentally Ill. Washington, D.C.: American Psychiatric Press, 1994. 1942-Superintendent Bryan employs selected patients to serve as "patient attendants" during World War II Connecticut. Norwich Hospital for the Insane. Report of the Norwich Hospital for the Insane to the Governor for the twenty-four months ended June 30, 1942. Hartford, Conn., 1942. State of Connecticut Public Document no. 51. 1945-Riley H. Guthrie, M.D. became Superintendent 1948-Ronald H. Kettle, M.D. became Superintendent 1953-Administratively transferred to the Department of Mental Health 1955-Patient population was 3,184 (highest annual average in hospital's history) 1960-Patient population was 2,685 1961-Renamed Norwich Hospital 1966-Morgan Martin, M.D. became Superintendent 1972-Patient population was 1,148 1978-Francis K. Hayes became Superintendent 1984-Luigi Saracino M.D. became Superintendent 1985-Garrell S. Mullaney became Superintendent 1988-National Register of Historic Places listing 1994-Total beds were 649 1996-Andrew S. Phillips became Superintendent 1996-Norwich Hospital was officially closed and remaining patients were transferred to Connecticut Valley Hospital
Facilities
Hospital Buildings Name Original Name Year Constructed Year Closed Architecture Sq. Ft. Original Use Later Uses Notes Administration Building 1908 1996 Late Gothic Revival 22,391 Administrative offices The building has been weatherized and buttoned up to prevent further decay and is being saved for future development. Central Theater, Dance Hall, Cafeteria, and Storeroom Main Building 1908 1996 Late Gothic Revival 79,396 Theater, cafeteria, kitchen, dance hall, storeroom A 1950s kitchen addition was built on the back of the building that continued to be used until the hospital's closure. Lippitt Building 1920 1979 Colonial Revival 22,391 Medical/surgical Methadone clinic The second medical/surgical building of its kind in the country. Russell Occupational Therapy Building 1956 1996 Modern 106,186 Occupational therapy, recreation, rehabilitative classes The patient canteen and security office were also housed in the Russell Building. Ribicoff Research Center 1962 1996 Modern 30,635 Clinical psychiatric and pathological research laboratory Pond View Building 1959 1996 Modern Employee housing Martin House Outreach 1930s 1996 Colonial Revival 23,566 Employee housing Outreach program, later the Martin House program The Martin House program provided low-income housing for former psychiatric patients. Pathway House Gateway 1930s 1996 Colonial Revival 23,566 Employee housing Gateway program, later Pathway House Pathway House provided a psychosocial rehabilitation program. Nurses' Home 1939 1996 Colonial Revival Nurses' dormitory Chapel 1963 1996 Modern 7,617 Chapel A daycare program for children of hospital employees was built but never opened in the newly renovated chapel in 1996.
Patient Ward Buildings