At the turn
of the 19th century, New York City’s psychiatric facilities were becoming
overcrowded and the expansion to quiet, calm Long Island farms was a strategy
to deal with the overpopulation. The concept was to build a center on Long
Island near farms and have patients in a relaxed setting. This idea for the
hospital created the concept that the hospital was more of a “farm colony” than
a psychiatric asylum. Two major farm colonies were created because of this
concept, Kings Park State Hospital and Central Islip State Hospital. These two
farm colonies eventually became overcrowded also, and another farm colony was
needed. This lead to the creation of Pilgrim State Hospital.
Pilgrim State Hospital, known now as Pilgrim Psychiatric Center, is a state-run
psychiatric hospital on Long Island. It was named in honor of Dr. Charles W.
Pilgrim who was a former New York State Commissioner of Mental Health.
The
psychiatric center’s construction began in Brentwood, NY in 1929. The Pilgrim
State Hospital was opened on October 1, 1931 and at its opening, it was the
largest hospital of any kind around the world. The hospital had multiple sets
of buildings and each set was known as a quad. Each quad was composed of four
building surrounding one central building which housed the kitchen for each
building set.
The hospital
was a close-knit community and self-sufficient. It had its own police
department, fire department, post office, courts, Long Island Railroad station,
power plant, swine farm, church, cemetery, water tower, and staff and
administrator housing centers.
In the years
following its creation, the patient population continued growing as it did for
the other hospitals. With the continuous growth, New York State felt the need
to expand and purchased more land southwest of the hospital. This newly
acquired land was used for the construction of the Edgewood State Hospital,
which had a very short lifespan.
At the time
of the Second World War, the War Department took control of Edgewood State
Hospital and three new buildings of Pilgrim State Hospital. The new possession
of these buildings was called Mason General Hospital, which was a psychiatric
facility devoting its work to aiding and treating battle-traumatized soldiers.
There is a documentary called “Let There Be Light” made by John Huston
(available at libraries in Nassau County) about Mason General Hospital and the
soldiers there who suffered PTSD and other psychiatric disorders from battle.
After World
War II’s end, Pilgrim State Hospital again experienced a large patient
increase, with 13,875 patients committed and over 4,000 employees staffed to
help these patients. The 1950s brought about a more aggressive treatment style
at Pilgrim State Hospital where there was a history of lobotomies and
electro-convulsive therapy.
Pilgrim
State Hospital soon began its decline due to the availability of pharmaceutical
treatments as an alternative to aggressive treatments and hospitalization.
Today,
Pilgrim State Hospital still stands, but the farm land was sold. The farms are
now part of Suffolk County Community College. The parts of the hospital that
still stand are very small compared to the previously used areas of the
hospital. Additionally, part of Pilgrim State Hospital is now a host to the
Long Island Psychiatric Museum with displays including photos, newsletters, and
relics left behind.
Source:
“Pilgrim
Psychiatric Center.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 1 Aug. 2018,
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilgrim_Psychiatric_Center.
