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The Descendants and Relatives of Former Patients

Presentations/Oral History Gathering Events

Please contact Lida Gibson at lbgibson@umc.edu if your church, community group, or library would like to host an event about the Asylum Hill Project. Our audiences always find the presentaitons engaging and we are eager to connect with descendants of patients. 

Pass Christian Public Library Dec. 10th at 10:30

 

The Historical Society of Gulfport presents
The Asylum Hill Project: Archaeology and Oral History

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PAST

SATURDAY, JULY 23, 2022

10:30 to 3:30pm
Gulfport Pubic Library Community Room
1708 25th Ave
Gulfport, MS 39501
 
10:30am to 11:15am Presentation by Bioarchaeologist Jennifer Mack
11:30am to 12:30pm Presentation by Historian Amy Forbes
 
1:00pm to 3:30pm

Do you have a story to share?

Asylum Hill Project Members available to conduct oral histories about the Old Asylum (1855 to 1935) on video. They will also share free archival materials for preservation of personal items.

 

 

 MSBook-Fest.jpgSATURDAY, AUGUST 20, 2022

Members of the Asylum Hill Consortium will be on site to answer questions about the project and distribute free archival materials for preservation of personal photographs, letters, etc. 

 

 

 

 

 

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These public events are made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Democracy demands wisdom.

 

 

Contact us to schedule a presentation to your group

We try to do as many public presentations as possible about the project. Please contact Lida Gibson if you would like to schedule a presentation about the Asylum Hill Project: community organizations, churches, business groups, classes, or any other interested group.  

 

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Patrick Hopkins speaks to a group at Old Asylum History Days in July of 2019.

 

One of the most important aspects of our work on the Asylum Hill Research Project is to nurture relationships with the descendants of those buried here. Historical records indicate that asylum patients were black and white, immigrants, male and female, young and old. They represent all 82 counties in Mississippi and came from all walks of life: housewives, farmers, merchants, lawyers, and former enslaved persons, just to name a few.

Mississippi State Insane Hospital circa 1915. Courtesy of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History

The AHRC is committed to conducting historical and archaeological research intended to paint a better picture of what life was like in late 19th and 20th century mental institutions. While identifying individual remains is not presently scientifically viable, the AHRC will work to gather historical data on individual patients whenever possible.

In July of 2019, the Asylum Hill project conducted two "Old Asylum History Days" where oral histories were recorded and historic documents were scanned.

 

The Old Asylum History Days were made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the human endeavor.

If you are a descendant of a former patient or employee at the Asylum, please visit our Descendant Community Outreach page which will enable you to share information about your relative if you wish or email Lida Gibson.

 

Photo of the Asylum (above) courtesy of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History. Circa 1915.