The Haunting Newark State Custodial Asylum for Feeble-Minded Women ~ CNY Paranormal

One of the interesting facts about Central New York, that is usually pretty unknown, is the area’s contribution to the evolution of humane care in asylums. Utica’s psychiatric center was the home of the straight jacket and the Utica crib, Willard Asylum was the first place in NY to provide long-term mental health care, and the Newark State School, as it was initially called, was developed to provide primarily women skills that would allow them to be productive in society.

Formed in 1878, the Newark State School was initially run as part of the Syracuse State School, which was a residential facility for people with disabilities or mental illnesses. In 1885, the school was renamed with the unfortunate name of the State Custodial Asylum for Feeble-Minded Women.

At this period of time, psychologists referred to people with minimal mental health problems as Feeble-Minded. This category also included women of loose morals, or those who became pregnant before marriage. At this time, the only other option for women who were unable to support themselves for one reason or another was a poorhouse.

Poorhouses were rampant with diseases and poor sanitary conditions, and it was felt that the women relocated to the asylum in Newark didn’t fit in there, especially those considered to be of loose moral value. They didn’t warrant the level of treatment found in Utica or in Willard, so Newark was viewed as a middle ground.

While it was initially referred to as a school, before its name change, the asylum in Newark functioned to teach these women the necessary skills to be successful in the real world. Conditions were poor, as was the trend for those times. Despite advances in the treatment of the mentally ill, even in the 1800s, funding was lower than expenses, and not enough was known about mental health treatments for residents to get proper help. Many people found themselves living in Newark without any hope of release, regardless of whether they were demonstrating any symptoms of mental health problems.

In 1927, the name was changed back to the Newark State School, and in 1932, men were introduced to the population. It was during this time period when the school started becoming a self-sufficient campus, teaching its residents the skills allowing them to help maintain the grounds and run the school.

Most of the buildings are now abandoned, although some of them are used by the Developmental Disabilities Services Office, and Finger Lakes Community College much like Mohawk Valley Community College uses the Old Oneida County Home buildings as part of its campus in Rome. While some institutions are moderately maintained, the unused buildings are in great disrepair, and are marked as condemned.

Many rumors of hauntings circulate around the buildings and the property often with ghostly sounds and fleeting images cited as echoes of their former use and with such a history it is not surprising.

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Watch the complete first season of the Haunts and Legends of New York including our explorations of the Lost Village of Delta near Rome, Utica's Secret Underground Waterways and the Hidden Vault at Bagg Commemorative Park in Utica.