The Almost Forgotten in Tennessee
State Hospitals, Asylums, County Poor Farms, Poor Houses, Almshouses, &c.
~ and the Folk who were Committed to Them . . .
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Introduction Poor Houses In very early Tennessee, care for the elderly poor, infirm, and mentally ill was responsibility of family. Of course there had to be a family that would be present, able, and willing to assume the care. When no home care was available, some counties used jails to house the mentally ill. Almshouses, poor houses, and county owned poor farms developed in the local communities. Most if not all counties had some version of a poor house or poor farm. It may have as simple as the county contracting with a farmer to take in some pauper for a monthly stipend with the county picking up the tab. County overseers of the poor farmed out care of the destitute to private citizens. Over the years, the poor houses could change location, there may have been a succession of poor houses within a county. Usually in the early days, counties had insufficient revenue. County owned poor farms could produce salable crops which would offset costs. In 1826, the Tennessee General Assembly granted Anderson County permission to build an almshouse. In 1827, that permission was extended to all counties. State Mental Hospitals 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 purchased on Murfreesboro Turnpike southeast of Nashville. Tennessee Hospital for the Insane (now Middle Tennessee Mental Health Institute) opened with 60 patients transferred from old asylum. 1886 saw the opening of the East Tennessee Hospital for the Insane (now Lakeshore Mental Health Institute) in Knoxville with the transfer of 99 patients from the Nashville hospital. Three yeas later, the West Tennessee Hospital for the Insane (now Western Mental Health Institute) in Bolivar opened with the transfer of 156 patients from Nashville. Moccasin Bend Psychiatric Hospital and Institute (now Moccasin Bend Mental Health Institute) opened in Chattanooga, 1961, and in 1962, Tennessee Psychiatric Hospital and Institute (now Memphis Mental Health Institute) opened. Cemeteries and other Resources From the very smallest county poor house cemetery to the very large state mental hospital cemeteries, we should expect very meager results when searching for grave markers. Most often, inscribed permanent stone grave markers were not provided by the families of the deceased nor did poor house or state institution provided the permanent markers. It is probable that uncut stones or simple wooden markers were placed on the graves. A search through records may be the only recourse. Becaume of state privacy laws, some records pretaining to the insane may be closed to the public. Here are some areas that may have some information: U.S federal censuses, Tennessee; U.S mortality schedules, Tennessee (1850-1860-1880); county court records, reports, minutes, and loose court records; newspapers for obituaries. Notes Lunatic, persons. One who has had an understanding, but who, by disease, grief, or other accident, has lost the use of his reason. A lunatic is properly one who has had lucid intervals, sometimes enjoying his senses, and sometimes not. Source :: A Law Dictionary, by John Bouvier, Revised Sixth Edition, 1856 Old Time State Hospitals  East Tennessee Asylum for the Insane, at Knoxville Eastern State Hospital Cemetery  Tennessee Asylum for the Insane, later, Central State Hospital for the Insane, at Nashville. 1997 USGS Aerial Photo (detail) Hospital Buildings and Cemetery Site (?) 1997 USGS Aerial Photo. Run your cursor over the large photo! State Asylum, 1880, Census State Asylum, 1880, Mortality Schedule County Resources County Poor House, 1880, Census Note from Goodspeed County Asylum, 1880, Census The Madison County Poor House, Poor House Cemetery County Asylum, 1880, Census Poor House Records All Warren County Resources Poor Farm Residents, Cemetery County Poor House, 1880, Census |
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