Danvers State Hospital

Images of America

by Katherine Anderson, Robert Duffy, John Archer (Introduction)

Perched high on the top of Hathorne Hill in what was once the village of Salem, Danvers State Insane Asylum was, for more than a century, a monument to modern psychiatry and the myriad advances in mental health treatment. From the time it opened its doors in 1878 until they were shuttered for good in 1992, the asylum represented decades of reform, the physical embodiment of the heroic visions of Dorothea Dix and Thomas Story Kirkbride. It would stand abandoned until 2005, when demolition began. Along with a dedicated group of private citizens, the Danvers Historical Society fought to preserve the Kirkbride structure, an effort that would result in the reuse of the administration building and two additional wings. Danvers has earned a unique place in history; the shell of the original Kirkbride building still stands overlooking the town. Though it has been changed drastically, the asylum’s story continues as do efforts to memorialize it.

Genres: Nonfiction

128 pages, Paperback

Published February 26, 2018

About the author

Kate Anderson is a special education teacher and professional photographer. She has taught in institutions for less than pleasant children for nearly twenty years and has written two nonfiction volumes on the history of insane asylums in New England, having visited and photographed more than forty such institutions.

She lives in Feeding Hills with her boyfriend, two beagles, and an overweight cat who figures heavily on both her blog and her Instagram feed.

Reviews

[Nannette]

This was amazing. The ebb and flow of the life, both good and terrible, of the hospital itself is well done. The pages with Mr. Lobotomy were shocking (I had read about him elsewhere). But what ultimately got me was the cemeteries. All the sudden there they were. And I could not get over the numbers of souls in them. If I ever have occasion to be up in the MA area, I plan to stop by with flowers for those forgotten souls. Thank you so much for documenting this important historical place and time.

[Christine]

Great photos !!! Really informative

[Nicole]

I live in Danvers, and I have always been curious about the Danvers State Hospital. And I am glad that I got the chance by reading this book. I was impressed how massive and beautiful the building was. Both inside and outside! And another surprising thing is that the Danvers State Hospital wasn’t always doom and gloom. At first, the staff, were treating those with mental illness as if they had physical illnesses. Their mission was to treat their patients with comfort and care thanks to the ideas of Dorothea Dix and Danvers State Hospital founder Dr. Kirkbride. And then everything slowly fell apart during the 1900s. The cemetery chapter was interesting. Many people did a good job of redoing it by actually identifying most of the deceased patients, placing flowers by their graves, and performing a memorial ceremony. I highly recommend this book if you are very interested in learning about the Danvers State Hospital.

[DJ Young]

This was a very abbreviated and concise history of the Danvers Lunatic Asylum. Though the information that was presented was very interesting and informative, I would have appreciated further elaborations on the treatment of patients through the years. As a historical record however, I found it to be a wonderful account that contained several rare and never before seen photos of the asylum and its elements through its entire history - which I was highly pleased with. Overall, as a purely historical record, I recommend this short account.

[Dawn E. Crowell]

Fascinating well written book

The photos are excellent. It was such a beautiful historic building and such a shame it was demolished. I took some photos there last week but felt sad it wasn’t the entire original building.

[Jeanne Dembenski]

This was a very interesting read. I did my Nursing school Psychiatric rotation at Danvers in 1967. It was a real experience, educationally and emotionally.

[Kristin]

A spot that fascinates me. Was cool to learn more about it. Most shocking fact was that an ambulance ride from Danvers to Salem cost $18 in 1961. It costs at least 100 times that now.......

[Matthew Barker]

A very quick read but lots of historical photos.

[Maria]

Primarily a postcard/photo book- fascinating look inside this hospital