Exploring an Abandoned Mental Institution

I’d only been to Milledgeville, Georgia once before, but I knew it was known for three things: Georgia College and State University, the penitentiary and the abandoned mental institution known as Central State Hospital.

And while I have an affinity for all things abandoned, this place was indescribably eerie, even in daylight hours. I can only imagine what it’s like at night. The hospital opened in 1842 as a “lunatic, idiot and epileptic asylum,” a term you would never hear these days. The standard of care is also nothing close to what we would experience today as back then little was known about mental illnesses.

In the 1800s the facility was ahead of its times as people with mental disorders were typically abandoned by their families or held in hospitals with physical restraints, but Central did not tie down patients. After the Civil War, the hospital was flooded with patients including soldiers, former slaves and others experiencing post-traumatic stress and a variety of other conditions.

A switch to medication and alternative treatments in 1960s led to a smaller population at the hospital and it has continually dwindled since then.

In recent years, the facility has been marred with over 100 suspicious deaths. There is also a graveyard on the property with over 20,000 unmarked graves from patients who died at the hospital, some of natural and unnatural causes.

The buildings are in a circle around a big field where you can often see college students playing Frisbee, unfazed by their surroundings. Many windows on the buildings are broken or boarded up and signs alert you to the danger of even stepping within ten feet of the buildings. I haven’t seen the interior, but this post from Kingston Lounge to gives an idea of what the inside looks like.

As of the date of publication, the hospital is still functioning as a residential and short stay mental care facility, in newer buildings of course, but there is talk about shutting it down for good. After I left, I learned that I knew of someone who was a patient here.

Getting There

From downtown Milledgeville, turn right on South Elbert Street/GA-112 S for approximately 2 miles. From there, turn right on Broad Street. Turn left to stay on Broad Street, where, on the left, you will see a sign welcoming you to Central State Hospital, a non-smoking facility.