Search Strategies & Selected Articles

The links below provide access to a sampling of articles from historic newspapers that can be found in Chronicling America. You can further explore the topic of "Asylums" using the following search strategies:

Use the following terms in combination, proximity, or as a phrase:
lunatic asylum, insane asylum, feeble-minded, mental health
It is important to use a specific date range if looking for articles for a particular event in order to narrow your results. To narrow your results for this topic, search between 1840 and 1920.

During the time period of these newspaper articles, the terms used to describe mental health topics were different from the terms we use today.

Selected Articles from Chronicling America

"Fourth Annual Report"
Vermont Telegraph (Brandon, VT), November 18, 1840, Image 1, col. 1-3.
"The Lunatic Asylum"
Orangeburg Times (Orangeburg, SC), February 14, 1872, Image 2, col. 2.
"Freaks of Insanity"
Springfield Daily Republic (Springfield, OH), June 22, 1888, Image 4, col. 5.
"Asylum Keepers Accused"
The Evening World (New York, NY), July 30, 1888, 5 o'clock Extra, Image 1, col. 1.
"Mere Baby Adjudged A Maniac and Will Be Curbed in his Murderous Tendencies after Being Committed to the Insane Asylum at Napa"
The San Francisco Call (San Francisco, CA), October 10, 1900, Image 1, col. 1-4.
"Kindess the Keynote"
The Courier (Lincoln, NE), December 14, 1901, Image 1, col. 1-4.
"Inhumane and Brutal Treatment Charged"
White Oaks Eagle (White Oaks, NM), May 28, 1903, Image 1, col. 1-2.
"By Brutal Treatment"
The Jasper News (Jasper, MO), March 1, 1906, Image 1, col. 1-5.
"Congressman Hear Startling Story of Asylum Abuse"
The Washington Times (Washington, DC), May 5, 1906, Last Edition, Image 1, col. 7.
"Mother and Daughter Railroaded to U.S. Asylum and Kept 2 Years Though Sane"
The Spokane Press (Spokane, WA), November 26, 1906, Page 4, Image 4, col. 1-5.
"Tuberculosis at the Asylum"
Condon Globe (Condon, OR), January 31, 1908, Image 2, col. 5.
"Feats of the Insane"
Evening Star (Washington, DC), August 2, 1908, Page 18, Image 40, col. 3-4.
"Sane- But Locked up for Months with Lunatics"
The Ogden Standard (Odgen City, UT), January 24, 1920, Last Edition 4 P.M., Image 16, col. 1-6.
"One Dead, Several in Critical Condition after Poisoning at Nashville Insane Asylum"
The Greeneville Daily Sun (Greenville, TN), July 24, 1920, Image 1, col. 4.

Asylums: Topics in Chronicling America

Search Strategies & Selected Articles

Selected Articles from Chronicling America