In Columbus' Hilltop neighborhood, if you know where to look, there are two small cemeteries with plaques that say they are the final resting place for patients from an old insane asylum.
The state approved plans in 1835 and the asylum was built on East Broad Street, about a mile from the Ohio Statehouse. Tragically, that building was destroyed in 1868 by fire that killed six patients.
Instead of rebuilding there, a new hospital would be set on 300 wooded acres along West Broad Street. When the hospital opened for business in 1877, it was renamed the Columbus Hospital for the Insane. It's said to have been the largest building in the United States, until that title was taken by the Pentagon in 1943.
The facility went through several different names through the years including:
The Ohio Lunatic Asylum
Columbus Hospital for the Insane
Columbus State Hospital
Central Ohio Psychiatric Hospital
One headstone that sparks interest among visitors is marked "SPECIMENS"
There's a lot of speculation online about what might be buried there, but there's no final verdict as records all seem to have been lost. Possibly parts of cadavers used for medical research is a likely answer? But for the time being, that part of the story will have to remain a mystery.
It is hard to overestimate the the terrible conditions that people who faced difficulties back then were made to endure. Caregivers likely were trying to do what they thought was best, it was best, but the science at the time was inadequate.
The science is better now but yet a lot of the same people that ended up in these insane and penal asylum cemeteries are struggling today.. People who are unable to hold down jobs, veterans who have trouble re adjusting to society, people with mental and physical issues, all of these face a lot of trouble today. Idon't know a lot about this sort of thing, but I'm glad that There are resources for people today, free resources in many cases. I have listed several below if you or anyone you know is struggling please seek out help possibly from one of the folks I listed below. Thanks.
namiohio.org/
www.dav.org/veterans/resources/
iava.org/
mha.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/mha/
27 окт 2021
