About this property
Austin State Hospital (ASH), formerly known until 1925 as the Texas State Lunatic Asylum, is a 240-bed psychiatric hospital located in Austin, Texas. It is the oldest psychiatric facility in the state of Texas, and the oldest continuously operating west of the Mississippi River. It is operated by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission. Austin State hospital offers psychiatric services for children, adolescents, and adults. These individuals may be struggling with one or more challenges within a broad range of mental illnesses and developmental or intellectual disabilities. This hospital offers acute, short-term care in the form of crisis stabilization with the goal of reintegration into society and the transition to long-term outpatient care. The Texas State Lunatic Asylum was chartered by the Texas Legislature on August 28, 1856. The Act set aside $50,000 in U.S. bonds for the construction of a suitable building. The Governor was authorized to appoint a commission of three men to select a site of between 50 and 100 acres for the asylum, and to appoint a physician to serve as Superintendent at a salary of $2,000 per year and $10,000 in U.S. bonds was set aside for operations of the facility. Gov. Elisha M. Pease appointed Dr. J. C. Perry as the first Superintendent on May 27, 1857. He was replaced by Dr. C. G. Keenan on February 13, 1858. Sam Houston was elected governor in 1859 and appointed Dr. Beriah Graham as Superintendent on January 9, 1860. It was during Dr. Graham's tenure that the Main Building was completed and opened for patients on March 11, 1861. Five days later, Gov. Houston resigned, and his successor, Gov. Edward Clark, re-appointed Dr. Keenan. Dr. Keenan served for about seven months until a new governor was elected later that year. Gov. Francis Lubbock appointed Dr. J. M. Steiner as Superintendent on November 1, 1861. At the beginning of the 20th century, patients began to work on nearby farms during harvest season as part of their daily tasks to establish a sense of routine and serve as free labor for local farmers. In 1925, the name of the facility changed from the Texas State Lunatic Asylum to the Austin State Hospital to reflect developing attitudes surrounding mental health care at the time. By the 1950s, the hospital had made several recreational activities available to their patients. Residents played sports and were able to attend movie nights, dances, and religious services. Between 1958 and 1965, the hospital gradually desegregated all of their admissions process and services by gender and race. The daily average population of patients peaked in 1968 at approximately 3,313. By 1990, the daily average had dropped to 518 patients.
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Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
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Questions about this property
When was State Lunatic Asylum listed on the National Register?
State Lunatic Asylum was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 4, 1987.
What type of historic resource is State Lunatic Asylum?
State Lunatic Asylum is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for State Lunatic Asylum?
The period of significance for State Lunatic Asylum is recorded as the industrial era, specifically around 1925.
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