not convenientDanvers State HospitalIt's a cemetery with the graves of patients who died in the hospital. It is believed that the people buried there were patients who had no relatives to claim their bodies.
The oldest graves are five graves from 1878 when the hospital opened. Six others were buried there the following year, and burials are continuing as the hospital's population grows.
After the Middleton Colony, an annex for female long-term patients, was built in 1903, a second burial ground was established at the Middleton facility.
There are approximately 770 graves between the two cemeteries, with the main hospital cemetery being the larger of the two.
The entrance to the main cemetery is up a steep driveway on the southeast side of the former state hospital property and is marked by a large stone engraved with the words "Danvers State Hospital Cemetery: The Echoes They Left Behind."
The second cemetery is in Middleton, about a mile from the hospital, in a field across from the Department of Youth Services Regional Service Center on Gregory Street.
The cemeteries were abandoned and almost forgotten after the hospital closed in 1992.
According to the Danvers State Memorial Committee website, in 1997 a woman named Pat Deegan was walking through the hospital grounds in search of the abandoned cemetery when she came across a field with numbered markers overgrown with vegetation.
After the discovery, Deegan photographed the cemetery and decided to try to find out the names of the patients buried there, according to an article Deegan wrote on his website:
“I started by bringing together a large group of ex-hospital patients. We looked at the photos of the numbered landmarks and immediately decided to focus on remembering the names of those buried there. There was no discussion, just reassurance that replacing the numbered markers with tombstones engraved with proper names was the right thing to do. We sense that we must do this for ourselves, for those who have been forgotten, and for those who will be diagnosed with psychiatric disorders in the future. Essentially, in that first meeting, we declared kinship with those who, like us, had been admitted to the government hospital. It was a kinship born not of blood but of purpose and appreciation of a shared experience. Those buried under the numbered markers are said to have no family. So we stood up and said, 'We're her family. We are your mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers. We will remember their names.'”
Deegan began interviewing former employees to find out where the cemetery's records were kept and found that the state had lost the records.
Deegan managed to locate a former employee who had a photocopy of a burial register listing about 150 names. However, the burial records of those buried between 1878 and 1929 are lost forever.
Around the same time, Deegan also found the second cemetery in Middleton, overgrown with brambles and strewn with large stones thrown there by local farmers.
In February 1998, Deegan founded the Danvers State Memorial Committee, an advocacy group composed of former patients and local residents, to identify the patients buried in the graves and to help preserve both cemeteries. One of the group's slogans became: "I could have been buried there".
The group held their first demonstration at the cemetery in June 1998, where former patients, author Marie Balter and Bill Capone, shared their stories of their time in the hospital.
During the summer and fall, the group cleared brush and rocks, conducted press interviews to raise awareness of the project, researched death certificates at Danvers City Hall, and planned and designed renovations to the cemetery.
Shortly thereafter, the group's mental health department offered $5,000 to clear the cemetery, which was clumsily done with a bulldozer, much to the group's dismay.
The group continued to plan, design, and raise awareness for the cemetery, and in the summer of 2000 received a $44,000 grant from the state to clean and maintain the two cemeteries over a three-year period.
In 2001, the committee had a series of meetings with Marylou Sudders, the commissioner of the mental health department, during which they argued that while it was customary to mark the grave of a mental hospital patient with a number instead of his name, in order to hers To protect privacy, they felt the practice was genuinely disrespectful and patients should be identified by name, according to the January 2002 issue of the group's newsletter entitled It's About Time:
“They decided that putting names on tombstones was not a confidentiality issue. It was a matter of respect. Patients were not asked if they would like their names on their graves. It was hospital policy to mark graves with numbers, and this policy probably came out of a sense of shame and a desire to protect families from "the shame of mental illness". The Mythology of Shame. It's time for respect. Burying people with appropriate markings was the norm, and committee members wanted the same standards to apply to ex-state hospital patients.”
Fortunately, Sudders agreed and supported the plan to put the patients' names on their graves.
In 2002, the group managed to discover the names of more than three quarters of the patients buried in the two cemeteries, identified and located most of their graves in the main cemetery, and identified three granite headstones with bronze plaques as the "wall of the grave". to erect "Remembrance" in the main cemetery.
The memorial wall lists the names of patients buried in either of the two cemeteries, but the exact grave in which they are buried could not be determined.
The main cemetery has 677 graves, of which 542 patients have been identified and 354 of their graves have been identified and located.
The smaller cemetery has 93 numbered headstones, with 84 of these patients identified, but it has not been possible to determine in which graves they are buried.
Contrary to some recent news about the property, there are no unmarked graves in the two cemeteries, only graves marked with numbers instead of names, as it is not known exactly who is buried in that particular grave.
The following patient names are listed on the "Wall of Remembrance" in the main cemetery:
- Joseph Acker 1872-1924
- Liborio Altomare 1878 – 1923
- Charles Anderson 1834-1915
- Nancy Annis 1834-1914
- Raffaelo Appesino 1871-1906
- Antoine Aumais 1827-1908
- Frank Aylward 1871 – 1922
- Caroline Bailey 1826-1912
- Marie Rose Balter 1930 – 1999
- Mary S. Barbur 1851 – 1911
- Julia Barnes 1827 – 1906
- Frances A. Bell 1822-1910
- Rosana Belmord 1883 – 1907
- Martin Benson 1860-1904
- Spencer Bentham 1859-1903
- Annie M. Bernhard 1844 – 1907
- Joana Birmingham 1845-1913
- Horace B. Blake 1858-1907
- Frank Boudreau 1873-1915
- John Brackett 1860 – 1903
- Mary Harriet Brady _- 1907
- Alice Brennan 1837-1913
- George O. Brooks 1850 – 1907
- Mary Brown 1847-1912
- Charles A. Braun 1849 – 1913
- Harry Brown 1866-1922
- David Bullard 1862-1914
- Mary Burns 1855-1909
- Alice Burns 1873-1913
- Edmund C. Burns 1856 – 1914
- Bridget Burns 1854-1922
- Delia Burnett 1872 – 1925
- Malachi Butler 1831 – 1907
- Emily Buxton 1840-1915
- Frank S. Buzzell 1854-1903
- Elizabeth Callahan 1867 – 1925
- Jennie Campbell 1834-1909
- Camila Caristi 1857-1909
- Cleandeas Caron 1870 – 1907
- Joseph D. Cary 1878 – 1908
- Andre Casey 1868 – 1914
- Joseph P. Cate 1827 – 1910
- George W. Cederlund 1872 – 1910
- Minas Chanian1849 – 1913
- Bridgett Chase 1838-1910
- Annie Clarke 1850-1912
- William C. Clements 1875-1914
- Walter D. Clever 1853 – 1910
- Frederick S. Cleveland 1854 – 1910
- Ellen Connelly 1857-1913
- Armstead Conover 1835 – 1913
- Manuel Costa 1873 – 1914
- Charles N. Crawford 1856 – 1911
- William W. Crooker 1850 – 1913
- Fannie Crossland 1868 – 1913
- Lavinia-Schneider 1863 – 1912
- John Daggett 1847-1908
- Charles Davis 1868 – 1908
- Irene Davis 1868 – 1910
- David E. Davis 1877 – 1913
- Ann S. Dennett 1828 – 1906
- Osborn Dickerson 1857-1922
- Eduard Dion 1858 – 1915
- James Dooley 1848-1905
- Michael E. Downey 1850 – 1915
- Michael Doyle 1885-1909
- Mary F. Drury 1849 – 1922
- Thomas N. Dunn 1847 – 1907
- Charles E. Eaton 1856 – 1927
- Samuel Edwards 1871-1910
- Edward Ellison 1874-1910
- Mabel M. Ellis 1887 – 1913
- Maria Emerson 1830 – 1904
- Mary Ann Evans 1838 – 1904
- Margaret Fallon 1830 – 1900
- Carl Johannsen 1836-1925
- Martha Johnson 1834-1900
- Peter T.Johnson 1832 – 1912
- George H. Jones 1865 – 1914
- John Kadaris 1875 – 1913
- Sofia Kantro 1881 – 1915
- Mary A. Kaye 1836 – 1912
- Margaret Kelley 1849 – 1909
- Joseph H. Kelleigh 1857 – 1910
- James F. Kelly 1873 – 1913
- Gust Kuchuli 1862 – 1924
- Martin Lanning 1839-1912
- Adeline R. Lawson 1848 – 1907
- William Lawson 1891 – 1911
- Florence B. Leavitt 865 – 1928
- Dennis Lee 1848 – 1910
- Mary J. Legere 1856 – 1904
- Olive Levan 1829 – 1907
- Annie Leslie 1871-1907
- Wilhelm Lofthouse 1826 – 1904
- Lena Lundeen 1876 – 1914
- George E. MacGibbon 1865 – 1910
- Ellen Manning 1843 – 1911
- Kobyork Manoogin 1868 – 1908
- Charles F. Manson 1841 – 1915
- Benjamin F. Marble 1865 – 1923
- Katherine McCarthy 1855-1923
- A. Smith McConnell 1832 – 1907
- George H. McConnell 1865 – 1908
- Minnie McCurdy 1862 – 1899
- Daniel McFadden 1833 – 1905
- Alison L. McKenney 1860 – 1912
- Margaret McKinley 1849 – 1906
- Alexandre McKinnon 1849 – 1922
- Dolly McLellan 1828 – 1912
- Margaret McNamara 1832 – 1910
- John McNeil 1857 – 1911
- Philip McNiff 1836 – 1888
- Augustine Michel 1868 – 1913
- Albert W. Morgan 1860 – 1926
- Joe-Moschee 1874-1904
- William Mullen 1834 – 1906
- Elizabeth Murphy 1840-1905
- Frank Myers 1819-1906
- Georgiana Newman 1870 – 1923
- Henry M. Newton 1852 – 1914
- James Newton 1875-1914
- Annie O'Brien 1850 - 1908
- Patrick O'Brien 1845 - 1919
- Catherine O'Hara 1837 – 1908
- Fernando Oliver 1832 – 1918
- Minnie A. Ordway 1867 – 1922
- Addie M. Osman 1850 – 1908
- Sarah Palmer 1834-1913
- Rosa Paquette 1891 – 1907
- Clara Parker 1858 – 1911
- John Passaretti 1870 – 1925
- Elisabeth Paul 1838-1908
- A'Clove Peitier 1845 – 1904
- Karmin Pelosi 1849 – 1904
- Greenleaf Perley 1834 – 1900
- Mary J. Perry 1829 – 1904
- Maria Perwer 1846-1908
- Eliza Poole 1847-1913
- Magh Quadapa 1872 – 1905
- Frank Rask 1858-1908
- Francis W. Reis 1854 – 1915
- Isaac Richardson 1871-1905
- Maria Richmond 1843-1914
- Manuel Rodrique 1858 – 1905
- Annie M.Rose 1841 – 1913
- Maria J Royal 1860 – 1915
- Andre Rudek 1874 – 1923
- Lucy C. Health 1878-1906
- Austin Schenks 1884-1904
- Georgiana Schumacher 1869 – 1914
- August Schwab 1842 – 1905
- John Serbalsky 1875 – 1923
- Charles A. Shaw 1877 – 1906
- Filipe Silvestre 1819 – 1879
- William J. B. Skillings 1843 – 1913
- Annie Smith 1878 – 1904
- Gilbert Smith 1844-1904
- William H. Spates 1828 – 1908
- Kate Spicer 1852-1903
- Sarah Steamer 1872-1911
- Sarren Stelzner 1861 – 1904
- Charles E. Stevens 1865 – 1908
- Mary Ellen Stevens 1849-1911
- Ella J. Stevens 1850 – 1915
- William Stewart 1826 – 1905
- Katharina St. Laurent 1871 – 1909
- Bridget Sweeney 1826-1906
- Edward Tarr 1827 – 1914
- Maria Thomas 1873 – 1910
- Helen F. Thomas 1839 – 1924
- Alvan C. Tibbetts 1833 – 1900
- John Turner 1850-1913
- John Vaughn 1851-1902
- Hanna Walker 1848 – 1929
- Margaret Wallace 1839-1911
- Alice F.Ware 1849 – 1909
- Mattie West 1868 – 1913
- Heinrich Weiss 1875-1904
- Oklahoma White 1897 – 1925
- Charles S.Wilson 1855 – 1904
- Elizabeth N. Wilson 1856 – 1908
- Margaret M. Windsor 1835 – 1907
- Hiram Winn 1871 – 1908
- Henry Woodbury 1875-1906
- William Young 1834 – 1904
The names of the remaining patients buried in the main cemetery are listed on their individual tombstones.
The following is a partial list of the names on these tombstones:
- Annie Babcock 1838 – 1878
- Baby Baker 1886 – 1886
- Robert Barker 1843 – 1881
- John Barnes 1858 – 1894
- John Barret 1864 – 1894
- Sara Barry 1848 – 1885
- John F. Bates 1846 – 1893
- Sara Barry 1848 – 1885
- John F. Bates 1846 – 1893
- Perry G. Bates 1807 – 1887
- Cornelius Benson 1800 – 1878
- Edgar F. Bessy 1848 – 1878
- John Bourque 1882 – 1915
- Ellen Boyton 1835-1906
- Patrick Brennan 1832-1881
- Thomas Braun 1858-1901
- Cornelius Bryan (dates of birth and death unknown)
- Eliza Bryant 1826-1885
- Mary Buckley (dates of birth and death unknown)
- William P. Buffum 1829 – 1878
- Willian Burns 1828 – 1888
- Sarah E. Campbell 1854 – 1878
- George R. Zimmermann 1836 – 1885
- José F. S. Chamberlain 1838 – 1883
- James Chronis 1881-1915
- Benjamin Franklin Coburn 1892-1953
- Unknown Maria Couchian - 1889
- Fannie Crosbland 1868 – 1913
- Mary Cruse (Cluse) 1846 – 1896
- Katharina Cunningham 1836 – 1885
- Martha Currier 1804-1878
- George H. Damon 1860 – 1885
- Charles Davenport 1835 – 1887
- William B. Davis 1832 – 1915
- Charles DeCosta (dates of birth and death unknown)
- Anna Davidson 1840 – 1878
- Alexander Deming 1849 – 1894
- Mary Dolan 1896-1957
- William H. Donegan 1866 – 1901
- Ellen Collins Donovan unknown - 1911
- James Dooley 1847-1887
- Maria Dulan 1896 – 1957
- Jason Ellis 1820 – 1882
- Benjamin H. Fales 1823 – 1882
- Mary Ann R. Dreads 1802 – 1885
- Annie Fitzpatrick 1868 – 1900
- Mary Foley 1815-1884
- Peter Francis (dates of birth and death unknown)
- Thomas French 1846 – 1905
- Charles Gair 1853 – 1885
- Maria Galiso 1860 - 1886
- Robert Gibson 1849-1886
- Bridget Gilmore 1852-1906
- Edward Grand from 1842 – 1883
- Unknown Ellen Gunnison - 1878
- Lary Hanlon 1824-1887
- Thomas Healy 1839-1878
- Hannah M. Hughes 1834 – 1895
- Oliver B. Hobbs 1822 – 1887
- Murnet (Meurnent) Jackman, Jr. 1849 – 1883
- Ida Janegar 1865 – 1905
- Hiram Judkins 1802 – 1884
- Thomas Kane 1840-1882
- Maurice Kennedy 1839-1883
- Thomas Kennedy 1820-1881
- Charles G. Kent 1869 – 1935
- Oscar F. Kent 1835 – 1884
- Clarissa A. König 1838 – 1878
- Elizabeth La Strange 1823 – 1881
- Viola Lauzier 1873 – 1915
- Frank Lawrence 1826-1878
- James A. Lawrence unknown - 1918
- Adeline R. Lawson 1848 – 1907
- Annie Leighton 1843 – 1888
- Georgiana Lewis 1853 – 1915
- Altomare Liborio 1878 – 1923
- Mathilde Lind 1844 – 1880
- Louisa Lindquist 1859 – 1901
- Fidel Lopez (dates of birth and death unknown)
- Andre Malcolm 1828 – 1884
- Patrick Maloney 1834 – 1897
- Unknown Milo Mason - 1918
- John J. McCarty 1845 – 1886
- Roderick McKenzie 1819 – 1882
- Philip McNiff 1836 – 1888
- Eduardo Melus 1880 – 1945
- Frank B. Menard 1851 – 1902
- Rolf M. Merrell 1832 – 1888
- Harriet M. Miller 1813 – 1878
- Charles H. Moore 1826 – 1906
- Sarah Morris 1823 – 1879
- Jeremias Murphy 1871 – 1901
- Thomas Neil unknown - 1878
- Mary Nelson 1856-1886
- Carrie Nichols 1851-1894
- Wilhelmi Nordberg 1878 – 1915
- Elizabeth O'Brien 1875 - 1895
- Anna Orto (dates of birth and death unknown)
- Alonzo Frye Osgood 1843 – 1902
- Michael Papows 1888 – 1958
- George F. Parker 1864 – 1887
- Washington J. Parkinson 1816 – 1881
- William Patterson 1832 – 1885
- Chase Prescott 1843-1878
- Mark Reilly 1871-1907
- Carl Richards 1844-1882
- Annie Riley 1841-1880
- Eugen Robitale 1868 – 1902
- Bridget Rogan 1818 – 1885
- Lydia Ronimus 1849 – 1885
- Grace Rorayne 1842 – 1902
- Lucy C. Carpena Sante 1878 – 1906
- Eliza A. Parsons Shackleford 1823 – 1879
- Maggie Snow 1841 – 1879
- John Souber 1832 – 1883
- Edward M. Souther 1862 – 1937
- Rosie Spaulding (dates of birth and death unknown)
- William E. Stacey 1854 – 1893
- Helen Stanczyk 1883 – 1933
- Lilly Philipps Stein 1875 – 1918
- Louisa Stimpson 1824 – 1884
- Mollie Sushelsky 1899 - unknown
- James Sweeney 1831-1906
- Mary Ann Swift 1865-1888
- Filipe Silvestre 1819 – 1879
- Harriet P. Taylor 1837 – 1887
- Michael Thorton 1833 – 1886
- Jeff Turner 1826-1887
- Abbie R. Virgo 1812 – 1880
- John Wales 1813 – 1882
- John S. Warren 1822 – 1884
- Patrick Welch 1845-1885
- Oklahoma White 1897 – 1925
- Jennie Williams 1811 – 1879
- Charles S.Wilson 1855 – 1904
- Margaret M. Curry Windsor 1835 – 1907
- Grace Josephine Withington 1884 – 1957
- Atholane Smith Withrow 1839 – 1887
- Samuel Wood 1804 – 1878
- George W. Young 1840 – 1884
- Gideon White Young 1796 – 1880
Location of Danvers State Hospital cemeteries:
Danvers State Hospital Main Cemetery:
Address: 1101 Kirkbride Drive, Danvers, Mass. When you are on the sidewalk opposite the main building, turn right on the sidewalk and keep walking until the apartments end and the condominiums begin. Follow the stone and gravel path down the hill until you reach the farm where you will see the entrance to the cemetery on your right.
Danvers State Hospital Middleton Cemetery:
Address: Corner of Gregory Street and Middleton Road, Middleton, Massachusetts. A path leads to the cemetery, which is in the middle of the field and surrounded by a fence in a clump of trees.
Sources:
"The restoration of the Danvers State Memorial Committee Cemetery is nearing completion." It's About Time, Vol. 1, Issue 2, January 2002, Danvers State Memorial Committee, dsmc.info/let/Jan2002.pdf
Formann, Ethan. "Missing Markers: Push is Ready to Install Plaques at Danvers State Memorial." Salem News, April 27, 2018, www.salemnews.com/news/local_news/missing-markers-push-is-on-to-install-plaques- at-danvers/article_0053658a-3e8f-577b-9b8f-33810b7ba9f7.html
"DSMC Cemetery Memorial 2002." Danvers State Insane Asylum, www.danversstateinsaneasylum.com/memorial
Deegan, Pat. "Remember My Name: Reflections on Spirituality in Individual and Collective Recovery." PatDeegan.com, October 2004, www.patdeegan.com/pat-deegan/lectures/remember-my-name
"Patient Cemeteries 2000-2005." Danvers State Insane Asylum, www.danversstateinsaneasylum.com/cemeteries
"Diashow." Danvers State Memorial Committee, dsmc.info
"Danvers State Hospital Cemetery in Danvers, Massachusetts." Find a grave, www.findagrave.com/cemetery/2186316/danvers-state-hospital-cemetery
Formann, Ethan. "Ceremony at former Danvers State Hospital honors patients buried in numbered graves." Salem News, May 28. 2015, www.salemnews.com/news/local_news/ceremony-at-former-danvers-state-hospital-honors-patients-buryed-in/article_2b81d7e4-3895-5a26-9d2a-c137d12bc9ec.html
FAQs
What happened at Danvers State Hospital? ›
In 1939, the medical community was looking for a permanent fix to the crisis facing mental health facilities. The population of the hospital swelled to 2,360. A total of 278 people died at the hospital that year. Medical science saw lobotomies as a cure for anyone's insanity, and as a way to stop the deaths.
Why did Danvers State Hospital close? ›Danvers State Hospital closed on June 24, 1992 due to budget cuts within the mental health system by the former Governor, William Weld.
What was the old mental hospital in Danvers? ›Danvers State Hospital was a psychiatric hospital in Danvers, Massachusetts, USA and opened in 1878 at a cost of $1.5 million. Danvers had previously been called Salem Village and was the site of the famous Salem Witch Trials of 1690, the name having been changed to distance itself from the events of the past.
What movies was Danvers State Hospital in? ›The hospital was the setting for the 2001 horror film Session 9. The asylum was also featured in the 1958 film Home Before Dark.
What was the famous mental hospital in Massachusetts? ›McLean Hospital was first known as the “Asylum for the Insane,” a division of the Massachusetts General Hospital. The Asylum opened on Oct. 1, 1818, and admitted its first patient on Oct.
What movie is Danvers insane asylum? ›The dreadful history of Danvers State Hospital inspired the 2001 horror film Session 9. Incredibly, the movie was actually shot on location in the abandoned and crumbling asylum. Session 9 is about an asbestos abatement crew who begin to experience terrifying things while clearing the Danvers State Hospital.
What is Danvers Massachusetts known for? ›Today, Danvers is best-known for its connection to the witchcraft trials, the Danvers State Hospital, a psychiatric institution which opened in 1878 and closed in 1994, and a large shopping district with the Liberty Tree Mall as its centerpiece.
Is Arkham Asylum a real place? ›Inspired by the works of H. P. Lovecraft, and in particular his fictional city of Arkham, Massachusetts, the asylum was introduced by Dennis O'Neil and Irv Novick and first appeared in Batman #258 (October 1974); much of its back-story was created by Len Wein during the 1980s.
Why did Willard Asylum close? ›After Geraldo Rivera's 1972 expose on the deplorable conditions at Willowbrook Asylum, numbers in large institutions declined sharply. Willard Asylum discharged its final patient in 1995 and shuttered its doors for good.
What is the oldest insane asylum in America? ›The oldest psychiatric hospital in the country is the Eastern State Hospital in Williamsburg, Virginia, which was founded in 1773 and remains in operation today as a psychiatric hospital. Other than Eastern State Hospital of Virginia, no psychiatric hospital is older than Spring Grove.
What is the name of the world's oldest mental asylum? ›
The world's oldest psychiatric institution, the Bethlem Royal Hospital outside London, this week opened a new museum and art gallery charting the evolution in the treatment of mental disorders.
What was the last mental asylum to close? ›Weston was closed permanently in 1994.
What is the oldest house in Danvers MA? ›The Lindens, originally built in 1754 in Danvers, Mass., is the oldest house in Washington that was built elsewhere. However, a house inside the Smithsonian National Museum of American History is arguably D.C.'s oldest house.
When did Danvers separate from Salem? ›In 1752, Danvers was established as a separate district from Salem and was renamed Danvers, in honor of settler Danvers Osbourn.
When was Danvers State Hospital demolished? ›Under the plan, the remaining patients at Danvers State Hospital were to be moved to Tewksbury Hospital, which had about 200 empty beds. On June 24, 1992, the last patients were transferred to Tewksbury State Hospital and the Danvers State Hospital was officially closed.
What was the hospital in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest? ›Similar to the novel's 1950s setting in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, the film takes place in the 1960s in a psychiatric hospital in Oregon. Depoe Bay′s harbor, about 70 miles west of Salem on the Oregon Coast, was where the fishing trip scene was shot. The Oregon State Hospital as it appeared in the 1940s.