Nine reproduced source pages include three architectural engravings and six administrative documents. Selected page OCR is searchable. Actual later campus photographs and the current map are linked at their official sources; they are not included as unrestricted images. No individual patient case files or original death certificates have been acquired.
Executive history
Connecticut’s legislature approved the hospital’s founding act on June 29, 1866. Its superintendent later recorded the opening to male patients on April 30, 1868. The 1888 report illustrates a growing institution through separate Main, Middle and South Hospital views, while its accounts document the staff and agriculture required to operate it. [CV-011]
The campus later became known as Connecticut Valley Hospital. Today’s official overview places its history within changing systems of treatment: inpatient services were consolidated at CVH during the 1995 statewide restructuring; Cedarcrest services consolidated with CVH in 2010; and Whiting Forensic Hospital separated on May 1, 2018. The exact statutory date of the CVH name change has not been verified in this research. [CV-012]
The official reports describe a large institution sustained by buildings, staff, workshops and a farm. Their tables preserve the administrators’ categories and priorities. Individual experiences require additional evidence; a total in an annual report cannot identify a person or substitute for a death certificate. [CV-010]
Key dates
1866-06-29 — Founding act approved. Act establishes an institution named The General Hospital for the Insane of the State of Connecticut. CV-011
1868-04-30 — Hospital opens to male patients. Explicit date in superintendent’s report for year ending March 31, 1869. CV-011
1888 — Twenty-second report published. Title uses Connecticut Hospital for the Insane; three exterior plates show Main, Middle and South Hospitals. Reporting biennium ends June 30, 1888. CV-010
1985-08-29 — National Register listing. Historic district recorded under Connecticut General Hospital for the Insane / Connecticut Valley Hospital, reference 85001920. CV-013
1995 — Statewide restructuring consolidates inpatient services at CVH. CV-012
2010 — Cedarcrest Regional Hospital services consolidate with CVH. CV-012
2018-05-01 — Whiting Forensic Hospital becomes a separate hospital. CV-012
Search the collection
Includes source text where acquired. Source websites require an internet connection. OCR may contain errors; verify names and dates against the scan.
16 catalog entries
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CV-001 · Historical illustrations · 1888
Main Hospital, published 1888
The main hospital and landscaped grounds, shown in the hospital’s 1888 report. This is a period engraving, not a camera photograph.
Public Domain Mark 1.0, explicitly recorded in repository metadata. Not a camera photograph. Record/engraving publication date is separate from date of the events described. Passed visual review: upright; source borders and printing retained; legible at full size; no generative reconstruction.
Credit: Thos. Chubbuck, engraver, Springfield, Massachusetts (signed in plate); Wellcome Library, via Internet Archive. Cite SGC SGC-CV-017, CV-001, source title, page and URL; accessed September 8, 2026.
CV-002 · Historical illustrations · 1888
Middle Hospital, published 1888
The report’s Middle Hospital plate presents a clock tower, fountain and carriage on the hospital grounds.
Public Domain Mark 1.0, explicitly recorded in repository metadata. Not a camera photograph. Record/engraving publication date is separate from date of the events described. Passed visual review: upright; source borders and printing retained; legible at full size; no generative reconstruction.
Credit: Thos. Chubbuck, engraver, Springfield, Massachusetts (signed in plate); Wellcome Library, via Internet Archive. Cite SGC SGC-CV-017, CV-002, source title, page and URL; accessed September 8, 2026.
CV-003 · Historical illustrations · 1888
South Hospital, published 1888
The South Hospital appears in the 1888 report with extensive wings, porches and landscaped approaches.
Public Domain Mark 1.0, explicitly recorded in repository metadata. Not a camera photograph. Record/engraving publication date is separate from date of the events described. Passed visual review: upright; source borders and printing retained; legible at full size; no generative reconstruction.
Credit: Thos. Chubbuck, engraver, Springfield, Massachusetts (signed in plate); Wellcome Library, via Internet Archive. Cite SGC SGC-CV-017, CV-003, source title, page and URL; accessed September 8, 2026.
CV-004 · Historical documents · 1888
The hospital’s twenty-second report
Printed in Middletown in 1888, this report covers the biennium ending June 30, 1888 and was presented to the General Assembly in January 1889.
Public Domain Mark 1.0, explicitly recorded in repository metadata. Not a camera photograph. Record/engraving publication date is separate from date of the events described. Passed visual review: upright; source borders and printing retained; legible at full size; no generative reconstruction.
JZ
Twenty-second Report
OF THE
Board of Trustees
OF THE
e. „ . ^ a , /fer
otmechcut mospital Jon % I nsctne
OF THE
STATE CF CONNECTICUT
WITH THE
Superintendent's and Treasurer’s Reports for fie Biennia! Period
Ending June 30th, 1888.
Presented to the General Assembly at Its Session in January, 1889,
By Order of the General Assembly.
**»
Middletown, Conn.:
Pelton & King, Printers and Bookbinders, 32 and 34 East Court Street.
Credit: Connecticut Hospital for the Insane; Pelton & King, printers; Wellcome Library, via Internet Archive. Cite SGC SGC-CV-017, CV-004, source title, page and URL; accessed September 8, 2026.
CV-005 · Historical documents · 1866-06-29
The founding act, 1866
Section 1 created the state institution under the name “The General Hospital for the Insane of the State of Connecticut.” This page comes from an 1895 reprint.
Public domain in the United States by publication in 1895; digitization states no known US copyright restrictions on the text. Not a camera photograph. Record/engraving publication date is separate from date of the events described. Passed visual review: upright; source borders and printing retained; legible at full size; no generative reconstruction.
ACT TO CREATE A HOSPITAL FOE THE INSANE IN THE
STATE OF COxNNECTlCUT.
Whereas, The report of the Commission appointed by this
Assembly in the year 1865 shows that there are seven hun-
dred and six insane persons in the State of Connecticut, of
whom two hundred and two are in the Retreat at Hartford ;
two hundred and four are in the almshouses, and three hun-
dred outside of both ; and whereas, it is impossible to secure
suitable care and medical attention for this large and deeply
afflicted class, either in the Retreat or in the almshouses, or
in private houses ; and whereas, considerations of humanity
and of true economy, as well as public welfare and of our
holy religion, all alike demand that these persons should lib-
erally be provided for by the State ; therefore,
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives
in General Assembly convened :
Section 1. There shall be established and maintained, at
some place in this State to be selected by a Board of Trustees
as hereinafter provided, an institution to be named " The
General Hospital for the Insane of the State of Connecticut."
Sec. 2. The government thereof shall be vested in a
board of twelve trustees, consisting of the Governor, and one
from each county, to be appointed by the Senate, and of three
to be appointed by the other trustees, which three shall be
selected from the town or vicinity in which the institution
shall be located, two of whom shall be so appointed and com-
missioned annually ; and the places of the two senior members,
as they stand in the order of their appointment, shall be
annually vacated ; and no trustee shall receive any compen-
sation for his services, but he shall be allowed the amount of
Credit: Connecticut General Assembly; reprinted by H. Sidney Hayden; Cornell University Library, via Internet Archive. Cite SGC SGC-CV-017, CV-005, source title, page and URL; accessed September 8, 2026.
CV-006 · Historical documents · 1866-06-29
Approval dated June 29, 1866
The act’s final clauses record an initial appropriation and approval on June 29, 1866. The scan is of the 1895 reprint.
Public domain in the United States by publication in 1895; digitization states no known US copyright restrictions on the text. Not a camera photograph. Record/engraving publication date is separate from date of the events described. Passed visual review: upright; source borders and printing retained; legible at full size; no generative reconstruction.
11
expenditure of which shall be accounted for to the Comptrol-
ler, with the vouchers, before any other sum is advanced.
Sec. 6. The trustees shall hold their first meeting on the
call of any three of their number, due notice being given to
all.
Sec. 7. Thirty-five thousand dollars are hereby appropri-
ated to carry into execution the provisions of this act.
Sec. 8. This act is to talie effect immediately.
Approved, June 29, 1866.
Credit: Connecticut General Assembly; reprinted by H. Sidney Hayden; Cornell University Library, via Internet Archive. Cite SGC SGC-CV-017, CV-006, source title, page and URL; accessed September 8, 2026.
The report for the year ending March 31, 1869 records the opening to male patients on April 30, 1868. Reprinted in 1895.
Public domain in the United States by publication in 1895; digitization states no known US copyright restrictions on the text. Not a camera photograph. Record/engraving publication date is separate from date of the events described. Passed visual review: upright; source borders and printing retained; legible at full size; no generative reconstruction.
EEPORT OF SUPERIITTENDENT.
Gentlemen :
In presenting my report as superintendent of the State
institution under your care for the year now past, and ending
March 31, 1869, it may be well to consider, first, the medical
and statistical history of the hospital ; and secondly, the
building operations of the past twelve months.
Agreeably to the promise in your last annual report, and
to the announcements published in all Connecticut daily and
weekly papers during the month of April, the hospital was
regularly opened for the admission of male patients on Thurs-
day, April 30, 1868, just thirteen months after the first work
was begun in excavation of the site.
It must be a source of gratification to those philanthropic
gentlemen, who, by votes in the General Assembly, and by
other valuable services, have been instrumental in establish-
ing, on a liberal scale, a State hospital for insane of all
classes, to know that their action has been promptly appre-
ciated by the people of Connecticut, as shown by the follow-
ing record.
There have been admitted during the eleven months to this
date, two hundred and sixty-eight (268) patients ; one hun-
dred and sixty-five (165) males, and one hundred and three
(103) females.
In the act of incorporation, provision is made for three
classes of patients: pauper, indigent, and private; one
hundred and sixty-eight (168) pauper patients, seventy-six
(76) indigent patients, and twenty-four (24) private patients
have been under treatment. Of this whole number, twenty-
five (25) were discharged recovered, eleven (11) were dis-
charged much improved, six (6) were discharged not
improved, two (2) were found to be not insane, and of course
Credit: Connecticut Hospital for the Insane; reprinted by H. Sidney Hayden; Cornell University Library, via Internet Archive. Cite SGC SGC-CV-017, CV-007, source title, page and URL; accessed September 8, 2026.
CV-008 · Historical documents · 1887–1888
The hospital farm’s account
The farmer’s report lists quantities and values of crops for the years ending June 30, 1887 and 1888. It documents the hospital’s agricultural economy.
Public Domain Mark 1.0, explicitly recorded in repository metadata. Not a camera photograph. Record/engraving publication date is separate from date of the events described. Passed visual review: upright; source borders and printing retained; legible at full size; no generative reconstruction.
18
CONNECTICUT HOSPITAL FOR THE INSANE.
FOR THE YEARS ENDING JUNE 30, 1887, AND JUNE 30, 1888.
1887. 1888.
PRODUCTS. QUANTITY. VALUE. QUANTITY. VALUE.
Hay,
198 tons, $3
00
vo
w
00
210 tons,
$3,360 00
Corn fodder, -
10
a
-
IOO 00
20
a
200 00
Ensilage,
220
it
-
880 00
220
ll
- 880 00
Straw,
18
a
-
243 00
12
ll
- l68 00
Rye,
216 bush., -
151 20
170 bush., - I36 00
Potatoes,
3,737
a
- 2 ,242 20
3,575
a
- 2,860 00
Carrots, -
85
11
*
29 75
70
a
28 00
Beets,
522
a
-
208 80
640
a
~ 320 00
Spinach,
210
11
-
147 00
i75
\ a
- 105 00
Beet Greens, -
240
11
-
108 00
185
11
7 6 00
Onions, -
334
11
-
267 20
290
a
290 00
Turnips,
50,466 lbs.,
-
423 5°
900
it
0
vo
<0
1
00
Beans (string),
70 bush., -
70 00
85
11
- 85 00
Beans (inshell),
280
a
-
280 00
295
a
- 295 00
Peas,
i65
11
-
247 5°
147
a
- 225 5°
Parsnips,
110
it
-
66 00
140
a
- 84 00
Sweet Corn, -
510
a
-
280 5°
725
11
- 398 75
Cucumbers,
276
a
-
207 20
312
a
218 40
Tomatoes,
223
a
-
]56 10
M
VO
ii
- T37 90
Radishes,
12
It
-
12 00
42
11
42 00
Currants,
5
11
-
10 00
7
a
14 00
Apples, -
122 bbls., -
244 00
260 bbls,
- 520 00
Cider,
73
-
219 00
io5
a
262 00
Credit: Connecticut Hospital for the Insane; Wellcome Library, via Internet Archive. Cite SGC SGC-CV-017, CV-008, source title, page and URL; accessed September 8, 2026.
CV-009 · Historical documents · 1888
Staff, work and institutional life
The superintendent counted 179 employees across wards, sewing rooms, kitchens, laundry, farm and other work. The same page discusses patient work from the administration’s perspective.
Public Domain Mark 1.0, explicitly recorded in repository metadata. Not a camera photograph. Record/engraving publication date is separate from date of the events described. Passed visual review: upright; source borders and printing retained; legible at full size; no generative reconstruction.
CONNECTICUT HOSPITAL FOR THE INSANE.
7
And in taking care of them the resident officers are aided by
%
179 persons, employed thus:
93 in the wards and sewing-rooms.
33 in the kitchens and bakery.
18 in the laundry.
14 on the farm and gardens.
16 mechanics.
5 miscellaneous help.
That comparatively so few should suffice for the care of so
many would be surprising were it not borne in mind that a large
number of the insane habitually participate in various industrial
pursuits and thus lessen the aggregate cost of support, while
getting for themselves the benefit of occupation. In the summer
more (in the winter a little less) than half of the male patients
are employed, and at all seasons about 40 per cent, of the women.
Nevertheless the question is often asked, Why are so many
patients to be seen absolutely idle ? In reply, take for instance
a bright June day when work enough awaits all who can be in¬
duced to do anything and the record is thus tabulated. For the
form of the table credit is due to the reports of the South York¬
shire Asylum at Wadsley, England.
NUMBER OF PATIENTS IDLE AND REASONS FOR IDLENESS.
MALES. FEMALES.
TOTAL.
Sick, or too feeble,
-
27
50
77
Aged and infirm, -
_
31
70
101
Too low spirited -
-
14
33
47
Too much excited,
-
20
53
73
Too little mind,
-
120
193
3i3
Able, but unwilling,
-
38
84
122
Total number of patients idle,
250
483
733
Another frequent question is, how many of these people are
likely to recover? And in reply candor permits hopeful prophe¬
cies in comparatively few cases. This may be inferred even from
the single fact that 86 per cent, of the 1,292 patients remaining
at the end of the year (Table XXVI.) have been insane longer than
twelve months, and have thus passed the limit within which
(Table XIX.) most recoveries occur. More than half of them, by
the way, have been inmates of this Hospital longer than five
years. Furthermore, the other points to be considered in prog¬
nosis, such as the form of insanity, hereditary influences, vicious
habits, the depressing effects of poverty or disease, oftener
Credit: Connecticut Hospital for the Insane; Wellcome Library, via Internet Archive. Cite SGC SGC-CV-017, CV-009, source title, page and URL; accessed September 8, 2026.
CV-010 · Sources & research leads · 1888
Twenty-second report of the Board of Trustees, Connecticut Hospital for the Insane
This digitized bound item continues with material about the separate Hartford Retreat after the CVH report. Only selected pages 2–24 from the CVH report are used here.
Public Domain Mark 1.0, explicitly recorded in repository metadata.
Credit: Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services. Cite SGC SGC-CV-017, CV-012, source title, page and URL; accessed September 8, 2026.
CV-013 · Sources & research leads · 1985, with later additional documentation
Connecticut General Hospital for the Insane / Connecticut Valley Hospital — National Register nomination
official heritage record
No blanket public-domain status: third-party forms, images, maps may retain copyright. External reference only.
Credit: National Park Service; prepared by Kate Ohno for Connecticut Historical Commission. Cite SGC SGC-CV-017, CV-013, source title, page and URL; accessed September 8, 2026.
CV-014 · Sources & research leads · Current institutional record
National Register photographic documentation
Digitized primary publication; selected pages are included.
External reference only. Photographer credits do not establish an unrestricted reuse license.
Credit: National Park Service / Connecticut Historical Commission. Cite SGC SGC-CV-017, CV-014, source title, page and URL; accessed September 8, 2026.
CV-015 · Referenced photographs & maps · 1984-05
Shew Hall, May 1984
Shew Hall photographed by Kate Ohno in May 1984; caption and negative credit on PDF page 2.
Unrestricted reuse not established; NPS explains that third-party photographs may remain copyrighted. Link to original only; do not ship local reference-only image in Site assets.
Credit: Kate Ohno; negative held by Connecticut Historical Commission; National Park Service NRHP file 85001920.. Cite SGC SGC-CV-017, CV-015, source title, page and URL; accessed September 8, 2026.
CV-016 · Referenced photographs & maps · Current map
Campus and district map in National Register file
Numbered campus map distinguishing contributing and noncontributing buildings in the National Register documentation.
No explicit unrestricted reuse license established. Link to original only. This is an archival campus map, not current patient-care wayfinding.
Credit: Connecticut Historical Commission / National Park Service NRHP file 85001920.. Cite SGC SGC-CV-017, CV-016, source title, page and URL; accessed September 8, 2026.
