Kirkbride Buildings - Historic Insane Asylums Forum

Apparently the jury is still out on this one. Do you guys think it's a Kirkbride? Also, as far as I know this is still standing and still in use as the Missouri State Hospital #1.

I go back and forth on this one. I can't decide. It opened in 1851 so it's in the right time frame. The way the wings are arranged is a little weird though, not the "classic" arrangment, and it looks like pieces were added on a little haphazardly.

Check out this photo from after the fire in 1956 that destroyed the admin. This is an aerial from the front of the building.



It could be that it was originally a Kirkbride that was added on to in a weird way. The two pictures together pretty much lead me to that conclusion. Maybe I'll classify it as one on the site.

In 1847, the Missouri General Assembly enacted legislation to establish an asylum for the insane in the central area of the state. This institution was to provide physical care for societal "lunatics." Several counties were encouraged to bid for this institution. Callaway County was able to produce $11,500 and 500 acres of land, thus winning the bid. Fulton State Hospital, the first public mental institution west of the Mississippi River in 1851, admitted its first 67 patients in December...

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It does sound like it was based on the kirkbride plan. It was probably pretty small from the start, and then the new wings were added without regard for the 'traditional' kirk layout, giving us what we see today.
I'd say it counts, it's just not the nice traditional kirk that we like to see.

I didn't know the admin. was destroyed by fire! That sucks. FWIW, I'm voting on the Kirk. w/ wierd additions idea.

Yea, it looks almost like Pontiac with the extra stuff added on. I guess if you remove the added buildings it does look like a Kirkbride.

Just to add to the confusion, take a look at this picture of Fulton State Hospital from 1863.

State Lunatic Asylum, Fulton, Missouri

It's a drawing, but still, I can't imagine the artist being able to draw that well but not be able to capture the building's true character to some degree. It looks like a completely different building, and definitely a Kirkbride. Weird. I wonder what the story is with this place.

UPDATE: I found a site that sheds a lot of light on the Fulton State Hospital main building. It's looking more and more like it was a genuine Kirkbride.

An architect named Solomon Jenkins designed the original building. It was modified pretty extensively by another architect named Morris Frederick Bell starting in the late 1880s. Then in the 1930s, under The New Deal, further expansions added even more to the building.

You can read all about it, and see some nice pictures, here:

Quest for a Cure: Facilities

There's also a lot more history and some interior photographs on the rest of the site, the home page of which is here:

Quest for a Cure