Georgia 1-29-2024

Visited Milledgeville Asylum today. Could not go inside and there is no museum so the history is all Google.

Once the world's largest mental institution. 2000 acres, 200 buildings, up to 13,000 patients. In 1837 Georgia Lawmakers authorized a "lunatic, idiot and epileptic asylum". First patient entered the building in 1842. Parents often admonished misbehaving kids by "I'm going to send you to Milledgeville"!

Standard treatments were lobotomies, insulin shock treatment and electro shock treatment. By 1950 the patient to staff ratio was 100 to 1 and some of the staff were actually patients. Maybe that's were the saying-"the patients are running the asylum" comes from. Lol. In 1959 admissions began to decline as new psychiatric drugs became available and allowed patients to move to less restrictive settings. 4 buildings were converted to prisons. In 2012 a Redevelopment Authority was created to revitalize and repurpose the property.

Nice day today, in the 60's. Another beautiful sunset.