Virginia Auditor of Public Accounts - Eastern State Hospital Records, 1800-1876

Access and use

Location of collection:
Library of Virginia
The Library of Virginia
800 East Broad Street
Richmond, VA 23219
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Archives Reference Services
Phone: (804) 692-3888
Restrictions:

There are no restrictions.

Terms of access:

There are no restrictions.

Preferred citation:

Virginia. Auditor of Public Accounts (1776-1928). Eastern State Hospital records, 1800-1876. Accession APA 128. State government records collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Summary

Extent:
4.65 cu. ft. (10 boxes)
Creator:
Virginia Auditor of Public Accounts
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

Virginia. Auditor of Public Accounts (1776-1928). Eastern State Hospital records, 1800-1876. Accession APA 128. State government records collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Background

Scope and content:

Records, 1800-1876, including accounts and receipts, lists of patients, pay patient fund accounts, reports, vouchers, and warrants of the Eastern State Hospital located in Williamsburg, Virginia. The bulk of the records relate to the expenses for running and maintaining the hospital and inmates. The accounts and receipts and vouchers, 1803-1876, detail purchases of materials (timber, rail, nails), food (beef, veal, sugar, molasses, butter), salaries of the keepers and doctors, hire of slaves, transportation costs to jailers for bringing patients to the hospital, clothing, repairs to the building, purchase of furniture, and other sundry items. Of note are the oversize pay rolls, 1871 June-November, for officers and employees, including name, job title, and salary. There is much overlap between the accounts and receipts and vouchers so researchers should check all folders for pertinent information.

Of note are the lists of patients, 1800-1838, which include the patients name, residence, dates of commitment, and some include an inventory and estate value of patients. The Pay Patient Fund, 1858-1862, are accounts for those patients who paid for their own care at the hospital. Also of note are the Reports of the Board of Directors, 1823-1838, to the General Assembly. The reports include financial information as well as names of patients. Also included are warrants, 1858-1862, transferring money from the Auditor of Public Accounts to the hospital.

For additional information and records please see the Eastern State Hospital Records, 1770-2009 (LVA Accession 23459).

Biographical / historical:

During its session begun in November 1769, the House of Burgesses passed an act establishing a hospital in Williamsburg for the mentally ill. The Eastern Lunatic Asylum (now Eastern State Hospital) was the first institution in America constructed as a mental hospital. The first patients were admitted in October 1773. By the mid 1960s the hospital had outgrown its location and moved west of Williamsburg. Today the hospital operates as a museum about the treatment of mental illness.

Acquisition information:
Transferred from the Auditor of Public Accounts in 1913.
Arrangement:

This collection is arranged alphabetically by folder title.

Physical location: