April 2025 Program
Farview State Hospital:
Pennsylvania's Institution for the "Criminally Insane"
by Tyler Stump, Archivist at the Pennsylvania State Archives
Watch the recorded presentation here.
Join archivist Tyler Stump in learning about this infamous institution and the records at the Pennsylvania State Archives that document the history of people who were incarcerated there. Fairview State Hospital was built in 1912 as an institution for Pennsylvania’s “criminally insane” residents. For nearly a century, the Wayne County facility was home to people from all over PA who were transferred there from other state prisons or hospitals or had been declared insane by the court system. Many people from South Central PA passed through its doors.
Presentation overview by Becky Anstine:
Using Farview as an example, Tyler discussed the history of the state hospitals in Pennsylvania. He used a case history to show the records that are available and what information can be found in the records kept in the state institutions and are now held at the Archives. Tyler concluded by explaining how the public can access those records at the Archives.
Farview operated between 1912-1995. Located near Waymart in Wayne County, the facility served individuals who were diagnosed as mentally insane, too violent to be held in other state hospitals, declared insane by the courts, and other court ordered offenses. The facility was built by the inmates using a brick factory that was located on the grounds. Inmates also worked on the farm that was located on the property, in the kitchen, etc. The only outside help that was hired were guards and clerical workers, and administrative staff. The institution, like other state-run facilities, was located in a remote area. The thought being that the general public would feel safer about having the facility located in their area and that the natural outdoor setting would be healthier for the inmates. The population was over 1,000 inmates in the 1960’s.
Before Farview and other state hospitals were built, individuals were held in almshouses, homes or jails in the counties. In the mid 1840’s, Dorothea Dix, surveyed the conditions of these places and found the conditions and treatment of these individuals intolerable. She campaigned and lobbied for improvement in the treatment of the mentally insane. This lead to the state to create a system of specialized hospitals. Criteria for the location of these facilities meant that the facilities could not be built near industries or nearby towns but where the atmosphere would be healthier and isolated. Admission
policies varied from facility to facility. There were also issues with using the inmates as unpaid labor. Lack of qualified staff also made it difficult to run the facilities. Two acts passed by the state affected the inmates. In 1970, it was ruled that inmates who were sent to the facilities, could not be held beyond their prison sentences. In 1973, the Industrial Peonage Abolition Act of 1973 prohibited the inmates from being forced to work without pay.
The case of Louis Henry Ross is an example of the effect of the 1970 act and also the records that one can find by searching the various records held by the Archives. Louis was born around 1899 in Pittsburgh. He was sent to Huntingdon as a juvenile delinquent for two years. Upon his release, he embarked on crime spree. Starting in Pittsburgh, for six weeks, he terrorized his victims by laughing while he was robbing them. He eluded police and became known as the “Laughing Eel”. He managed to escape to St. Paul,Minnesota. Local police were able to capture him within two weeks. He served a
sentence there and was returned to Pennsylvania, where he became an inmate at Western State Penitentiary. After two years there, Louis was transferred to Farview – where he remained. In 1954, Louis escaped from Farview, made it to Pittsburgh, where he hired a lawyer and sued for his freedom. Based on evidence that during his time at Farview, he received no treatment, no exams and no rehabilitation, the judge ordered his release. His lawyer later wrote to Gov. George Leader asking that other similar cases of people being held against their will be investigated. Using the resources of the Archives, Tyler was able to piece Louis’ story together. He was able to search records at each of the facilities where Louis was held, finding a copy of fingerprints and other records of his incarceration. From his research on Louis, Tyler cautions that one should not take all the records at face value – there’s always more to the story. As he found out during his search, one person’s records can be in multiple places.
What is available at the State Archives? Record Group 23 – Department of Human Services is the main group. Within these records one can find a variety of resources: inmate newspapers, photos, daily record books, admissions and discharges, annual reports, articles, newspaper clippings, pamphlets, and more. Records are arranged in chronological order from date of admission. Be prepared to search multiple records.
If you plan on visiting – call ahead – so that the records can be pulled. Some records may not be open – depending on whether the inmate is alive or deceased. What you need to have(if you have it) : full name, birth and death dates, date of admission and discharge, residence at time of admittance, name of the institution, death certificate or proof of death.
For further information you can: google – Pennsylvania State Archives, email at “pa [email protected] or phone: 717-783-3281.
Stump, Tyler. “Road of No Return: Farview State Hospital.” Pennsylvania History: A Journal of Mid-
Atlantic Studies 88 (Spring 2021): 198-234.
Stump, Tyler. “Records and Resources: Finding the History of Disability and Institutionalization at the
Pennsylvania State Archives.” Pennsylvania History: A Journal of Mid-Atlantic Studies 89 (2022 v. 3): 337–350.