The Fairfield State Hospital in Newtown, CT was opened in 1931 with the intention to house and treat the mentally ill, and to relieve overcrowding from other surrounding Connecticut state hospitals. The hospital was a self-sustaining facility containing farming, cattle, factories, and its own power plant which would power the sprawling hospital campus. The facility expanded in size of staff, and patients overtime, and by the 1960’s, there were approximately 4000 patients, 3000 employees, and 20 buildings of various uses. And around the same time, the facility changed names from the Fairfield State Hospital to the Fairfield Hills State Hospital. Buildings on campus included Newtown Hall (main admin bldg), Shelton hall (admin & patient care), Greenwich House (offices & medical hospital), Bridgeport Hall (central food services), Kent House & Canaan House (two identical patient bldg’s), Cochran house (newer patient housing), Cochran House (newer patient housing), Stamford Hall and Norwalk Hall (staff housing), Plymouth Hall (the chapel, theater, gymnasium, bowling alley and classrooms), Stratford Hall (the library, formally a lunch-time cafeteria for commuting workers), Yale Laboratory (lab and morgue), Washington Square (doctors’ residence complex), power plant, factories, and many other buildings that make up the facility, built between the 1930’s and 1950’s. The buildings of the Fairfield Hills State Hospital were named after numerous towns across the State of Connecticut with the exception of Cochran House which was named after Alice Cochran, the chairman of the Fairfield Hills State Mental Hospital's Board of Trustees. Throughout the operation of Fairfield Hills, Many cutting edge treatments were performed within the facility including hydrotherapy, electroshock therapy, and frontal lobotomies, and with these many treatments being done, and the quiet, peaceful land which the hospital sits, the Fairfield Hills State Hospital was viewed as a prosperous place for people of Connecticut to receive care. However, while overcrowding became a problem, neglect, and abuse were subject within the facility, and acts of deinstitutionalization came into play in the 60’s and 70’s. In addition to deinstitutionalization, the facility began to see a decline in patients around the same time due to psychotropic drugs such as thorazine coming into play. This created a much less critical need for the facility’s operation, and along with this, the hospital reduced in size tremendously. In 1995, Fairfield Hills State Hospital was officially closed down permanently along with Norwich State Hospital, in Norwich, CT. Remaining patients of Fairfield Hills and Norwich State Hospital were moved to the still-functioning Connecticut Valley Hospital in Middletown. Ever since closure, the Fairfield Hills State Hospital was left abandoned, however, the town of Newtown rented out the first floor of Canaan House from the state for use of the town's Board of Education, Planning & Zoning, and Fire Marshall until 2005. Aside from this, the town of Newtown took over the forgotten property in 2004 with the idea of renovating, rebuilding, and opening the property, giving it a new municipal use. With the property now open to the public known as The Fairfield Hills Campus, many projects had continued to take place to bring more new life to the old, forgotten state hospital campus. NYA Sports & Fitness was built and opened in 2008 along with a new baseball field next door being opened. Bridgeport Hall was renovated in 2009 and it became the Newtown Municipal Center. The Newtown Volunteer Ambulance Corps built a new $4.5 Million Ambulance facility on the Campus which opened in 2014. One of the old doctors’ residences in Washington Square was renovated for the Newtown Parent Connection's new headquarters in 2016. Newtown Community Center opened in 2019, a new construction which was built in place of Canaan House, which was demolished in 2016. A former cottage by the front entrance of the campus was renovated and opened for Newtown Social Services In 2019. Lastly, Stratford Hall was renovated as the NewSylum Brewery in 2020, and it serves as a wonderful local brewery and restaurant which has a modern touch on not only the building, but the historical campus it sits on. While some of the original buildings on campus were renovated, some were demolished to make way for new buildings, parking lots, or just to clear space for grass. Canaan House, Danbury Hall, Woodbury Hall, Yale Laboratory, and a few smaller buildings were demolished. Today, while some of the campus has been renovated/ rebuilt, and some of the historic state hospital buildings have been demolished, many buildings still remain abandoned and decaying around the campus, curious people wanting to take a peek. Ghost hunters, photographers, and urban explorers travel to the Fairfield Hills Campus from all over with interest in the buildings, the grounds, and the history. Along with this, many local vandals, graffiti artists, and scrappers have made their ways into many of the buildings on the property, leaving these historic abandoned buildings in very rough condition along with natural decay overtime. The underground tunnel system was removed, and/or sealed from parts of the campus to prevent people from entering. However, thrill seekers and curious people continue to find their ways into the buildings and parts of the tunnel system even though it is illegal, and unsafe to do so. Despite this, the Fairfield Hills Campus remains a wonderful place for locals to take a walk around and tour the historic site with the ability to grab food and drinks at the brewery, bring the family for an outside day in the fields and on the walking trails, or even just walk around and take photos of the old buildings on campus. Now, there are plans to renovate the majority of remaining buildings into apartments, with some portions of the buildings being demolished. However, until this takes place, the majority of the Fairfield Hills State Hospital remains a creepy place with buildings left abandoned, overgrown, and boarded up, waiting for a brighter future.
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