Norwich State Hospital

Preston, CT

Located directly across from Mohegan Sun on the banks of the Thames River is the old Norwich State Hospital.  Opened in 1904 as the Norwich State Hospital for the Insane, the site once encompassed over 900 acres and contained 40 buildings.  Although primarily a mental health facility, it also housed patients with tuberculosis, geriatric patients as well as those patients with a chemical dependency.  At its peak, the facility housed over 3,000 patients. Declining patient populations forced its closure in 1996.  It was listed on the National Registry of Historic Places in 1988.  Most of the site lies in the city of Preston, which is currently trying to develop the site after having purchased 330 acres from the state in 2009.  Although there have been many proposals to develop the site for other uses, nothing concrete has ever come of the plans.  Meanwhile, these historic buildings are left to decay.