Norwich State Hospital

The Norwich State Hospital, originally established as Norwich State Hospital for the Insane and later shortened to Norwich Hospital, is located in Preston and Norwich, Connecticut. It opened its doors in October 1904, and though the number of patients and employees were drastically reduced, it remained operational until October 10, 1996. Norwich State Hospital was a mental health facility initially created for the mentally ill and those found guilty of crimes by insanity. Throughout its years of operation, however, it also housed geriatic patients, chemically dependent patients and, from 1931 to 1939, tubercular patients. The hospital, which sits on the banks of the Thames River, began with a single building on of land and expanded to, at its peak, over thirty buildings and.A 70acre property including the hospital was listed as an historic district on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.HistoryDevelopment of the groundsIn October, 1904 when the hospital first opened, it held ninety-five 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. 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, and 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.