Historical background and research files

Arranged by type of record.

This series contains a wide assortment of record types considered to be historical or archival in nature which were collected or retained by several entities at the Willard Asylum for the Insane (later Willard State Hospital and Willard Psychiatric Center), including the Willard Staff Library. The records were collected and preserved for their historical interest, to provide information to the public, or for research value in the areas of treatments and conditions, patient life, staff training, facility expansion, and infrastructure repair and improvement.

Records include chapel books; material relating to Willard State Hospital's centennial (1969); published hospital rules and regulations; laws regulating the insane and state hospitals; patients' handbooks and orientation material; staff handbooks; typewritten histories of Willard facilities, and biographies of founders and officials; local histories of the Seneca Lake region; and photographs of various hospital groups and activities.

Of particular interest in the series is an original notebook kept during the first formal training class for attendants (1887). These classes later evolved into curricula for the Willard State Hospital School of Nursing. One group of news clippings details the events and circumstances leading to the closure of the Willard School of Nursing. Information includes class roster; attendance list; printed handouts; outlines of lectures; and copies of examinations.

Another distinct group of records consists of leases, deeds, and mortgages concerning hospital property; and contracts and specifications for construction.

A significant portion of the records document attempts to restore Chapin Hall, and its ultimate destruction. A distinct set of records, salvaged from Chapin Hall shortly before its demolition, consists of a variety of reports, correspondence, memoranda, and fiscal documents dating from the 1880s.

Also included in the series are early reference works (1840s-1920s) dealing with such topics as psychoanalysis, demonic possession, hysteria epidemics, and double consciousness; collections of published articles on mental health topics and facilities; and copies of published annual reports of other mental health facilities.

Container list.

Portions of this series are apparently part of a collection started in 1924 by Mrs. Margaret E. McDonald, Assistant Principal of the School of Nursing. Sometime after the School of Nursing closed, portions of the School of Nursing Library collection was consolidated into the Willard Staff Library.

These records were transferred to the State Archives from Willard Psychiatric Center at the time of its closure in April, 1995.

There are no restrictions regarding access to or use of the material.