Kirkbride Buildings - Historic Insane Asylum Architecture

A gentleman named Benny Britton has published a book chronicling the history of Terrell State Hospital in Texas. Britton has been an employee of the hospital for forty-two years. Unfortunately, the book—which includes historic and current photos—does not appear to be available anywhere but at the hospital. If you’re in the Terrell area, there will be a book signing on Tuesday, June 9, 2009 at the state hospital Silver Star Cinema at 5:30PM where the book will be available for purchase. More information can be found in this article: Terrell State Hospital History Book Published. If I find out you can pick up the book online or in bookstores, I’ll post a follow-up.

I happened across another story about a graveyard restoration today. This time it’s for Wildwood Cemetery which belongs to Terrell State Hospital: Restoring Dignity to Wildwood Cemetery. Restoration has been ongoing since about 1997. Volunteers have cleaned up the grounds and replaced the numbered headstones with markers bearing the patients’ names. In addition, a decorative fence is being erected around the graveyard.

The volunteer Wildwood Cemetery Association is accepting donations for the project. Information on making a contribution can be found at the end of the article or on the association’s web site (click on “Contribute – Wildwood Cemetery” in the left hand link list).

Unfortunately, I’m not very familiar with Terrell State Hospital, although I do know that the Kirkbride there is long gone. You can see more pictures of the building and learn a bit more of it’s history at the Kaufman County TXGenWeb Project Site.