27 January 2024 , 08:00
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A spooky and abandoned psychiatric hospital saw more than 50 patients died of a mysterious epidemic.
Part of a former United States Army Arsenal Depot and situated 30 miles from the Gulf of Mexico in Alabama, the Mount Vernon Arsenal was established by the army in 1828. More than 30 historic buildings are now rotting away where they stand in one of two of the US’s original 14 arsenals that survived as intact complexes.
Two of the buildings have already collapsed into a pile of rubble while the third suffered damage from a tornado. Many of the others are deteriorating - the oldest building on the campus is crumbling brick by brick - and some have been taken over by kudzu, a type of climbing deciduous perennial vine.
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The main reason for the patients’ unhealthy condition was mouldy dried corn (Mediadrumimages/Leland Kent)Searcy Hospital was initially known as the Mount Vernon Asylum for the Colored Insane, established specifically for African American patients. It was a 1,600-acre property established as a mental hospital for the State of Alabama in 1895. The hospital was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986 and has been completely closed to the public, and abandoned, since 2012.
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A climbing deciduous perennial vine called kudzu has overtaken parts of the outside (Getty Images)Urban explorer Leland Kent from Florida visited the complex to witness the rich history of the mental institution. He observed: “The decaying buildings of the abandoned Searcy Hospital complex hold the history not only of the site's original function as one of the country's earliest arsenals but also of Alabama's mentally ill black patients.
“According to a report by Dr J. T. Searcy, the first superintendent at the Mount Vernon hospital, a mysterious epidemic was afflicting patients at the facility but not its staff. The undiagnosed illness had killed more than 50 patients."
Once an entertainment room, now it's filled with creepy views (Mediadrumimages/Leland Kent)He added that a study conducted by Dr Searcy's physician son, Dr George H. Searcy, relayed that the primary reason for the patients’ conditions was mouldy dried corn, a meal only fed to the patients and not the staff.
Leyland went on: "This hospital was established to relieve Bryce Hospital in Tuscaloosa (47 miles from Mount Vernon), the state's insane facility, of its overcrowding, as the institute only catered to white patients.
Searcy Hospital was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986 (Mediadrumimages/Leland Kent)"For the hospital’s construction, in an effort to save money, many of the windows, doors, and security safeguards were made by the employees and patients at Bryce Hospital and shipped to Mount Vernon by train.
“Around 318 African American patients and 25 staff members from Bryce Hospital were transported to the Mount Vernon hospital. Mount Vernon's facilities included a farm and other maintenance shops to run the hospital. Patients were also given duties such as caring for livestock or harvesting crops, an activity which ceased in 1970 as it was criticised as forced manual labour.
The patients' bathtub is still in one piece (Mediadrumimages/Leland Kent)“Years of neglect have caused many of the buildings to become extremely dangerous, and several people have been hurt in the last couple of years, according to authorities. During a tour of the grounds, law enforcement shared a number of stories of rescuing people from buildings after breaking bones or falling through floors."
Leyland said that in one instance, several people climbed the water tower and once they reached the top, the ladder broke behind them, leaving them stranded." He continued: "The fire department had to be dispatched to get them down. Searcy is a state-owned property, and anyone caught trespassing can potentially be charged with a felony. The state continues to maintain a 24/7 security presence as well as local and state law enforcement patrolling the property.”
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