Haunted Binghamton Inebriate Asylum Aka Binghamton State Hospital

Binghamton Inebriate Asylum was started in June 1858 as the first treatment center in the United States that treated alcoholism as a mental disorder. In 1858, Isaac Perry came to the area design the multiple floored building, with wings for the patient rooms that looks like a castle.

The building sits on 200 acres on a hill overlooking the city of Binghamton, New York.

It took six years to build the massive complex and in February 1864, the first patients were admitted.

By September of 1864, the Binghamton Inebriate Asylum saw its first fire and in March of 1870, fire destroyed the entire East wing. The masonry and stone construction of the building helped to keep the fires from destroying the complex.

In 1872, the Asylum saw its highest population with 334 patients receiving care within the facility. However by 1878 only 39 patients remained. In 1879, the Binghamton Inebriate Asylum was said to have been a massive failure and rather than abandon the building it was repurposed to house the insane. The name changed to the Binghamton Asylum for the Chronic Insane and reopens in 1881 with almost 300 patients from surrounding communities. By 1885, there were almost 600 insane people living in the building.

A third name change occurred in 1890 when the building was renamed Binghamton State Hospital. Within three years, the electrical systems were installed and they replaced the gasoline fixtures as the building was renovated and modernized.

There were many firsts at the Binghamton State Hospital, including electrical shock treatments which began in 1942, the first prefrontal lobotomy in 1946 and finally in 1955 medications to help in the treatment of mental health diseases. In 1974 the hospital is renamed the Binghamton Psychiatric Center. It was also abandoned when a section of the west wall failed. The building has been closed up since 1993.

Like many old asylums and buildings around the United States, this one is also haunted. The Paranormal & Ghosts Society did an investigation of the Binghamton Inebriate Asylum in 2003. On their web site that is linked below, paranormal fans can see photos of the long gone residents, which still inhabit the building. The Society stated that the grounds surrounding the asylum were more active as far as spirits go, and their photographs prove this is the case.

Resources:

http://www.nysasylum.com (history of the building, photographs and more information)

http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~asylums/binghamton_ny/index.html (more info on the history)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_State_Inebriate_Asylum (the Wikipedia page)

http://www3.gendisasters.com/new-york/10989/binghamton-ny-inebriate-asylum-fire-mar-1870 (information on the March 1870 fire)

http://www.paranormalghostsociety.org/Binghamton%20Asylum1.htm (documents the paranormal activity on this site with text and many photographs).

http://nyslandmarks.com/treasures/08apr2.htm ( the Landmark has been given a new lease on life)