Western Hospital for the Insane
Wednesday, March 5th, 2008
Credit goes to squad546 on the Asylum Projects forum for this revelation: it looks like there may have been a Kirkbride building in Bolivar, Tennessee. As it stands today, the building has no wings, but there are clues it used to have some. An older topographic map shows what appears to be that old, familiar outline. Also, the structure was completed in 1889, putting it within the tail end of the Kirkbride era. And lastly, these photos show there was definitely something torn down on either side of the old administration building. Check out these images in particular where you can make out traces of what was torn down:
Image One
Image Two
Image Three
I’m still not completely sure this was a Kirkbride, but I wouldn’t post about it if I didn’t think there’s a really good chance it was. Finding out about a Kirkbride not mentioned in the usual sources is always a nice surprise. It gives you hope that there are more out there. Conservatively, I’d estimate the total count of Kirkbride asylums ever built at somewhere around fifty. But the real count could be more like seventy. Finds like this make me think the larger number is more likely. I’ll write more about those estimates in a future post.
