The Creepy Asylum In Nebraska That Stood Sad And Disturbing For Decades

Editor’s note: Since the original publication of this article, this facility has been torn down. The final building was demolished in the summer of 2016. The stories and pictures from the Norfolk Regional Center will continue to live on.

In 1888, a 97-bed asylum opened its doors in Norfolk thanks to funding from the Nebraska Legislature. It was called the State Hospital for the Insane, and it was meant to house patients with a wide variety of conditions. Unfortunately for patients at that time, these conditions could include almost anything – from homesickness to being unlucky in love. There were plenty of residents who were genuinely mentally ill, but they were housed along with the patients who were simply a bit different. Today, this empty building still contains the echoes of the lives that were forever changed within its walls. Photographer Trish Eklund visited the site to explore the grounds and snap some pictures from the outside of the locked building.

All images copyright and courtesy of Trish Eklund. Used with permission.

The hospital began as a single building, but within a decade included several buildings with a combined patient capacity of 300.

In 1901, almost all of the facilities were destroyed by a fire. A single building remained standing.

The hospital was rebuilt and augmented with further buildings. It reopened in 1905 and continued to grow in capacity.

Residents (or "inmates") were mostly responsible for the work conducted on the grounds in the early days.

They tended crops and worked on the dairy farm to feed the population. They cleaned and maintained the buildings, and they even produced their own power.

In 1920, the facility's name was changed to Norfolk State Hospital. The focus of the facility changed from merely housing patients to actually treating their conditions.

Patients were sometimes subjected to electroconvulsive therapy and insulin shock therapy, both of which can have long-lasting negative effects. There are reports that the hospital also performed partial lobotomies for decades.

For some time, patients were also subjected to involuntary sterilization. Early 20th century laws allowed for the practice where it concerned "feeble-minded" individuals as well as "habitual criminals, moral degenerates, and sexual perverts."

Many people feel that the abandoned building still holds on to the restless souls of the patients who passed through the facility. They report feelings of uneasiness and inexplicable sadness when they explore the grounds.

In 1962, the facility was again renamed - it was dubbed Norfolk Regional Center. With broad changes to the mental health care system, the facility was needed less and less over the years.

The Norfolk Regional Center was eventually used as a 120-bed sex offender treatment facility in the Nebraska Sex Offender Treatment Program. As of 2010, the majority of the buildings on the 320 acre grounds were vacant and unused.

Some structures have already been torn down; others are scheduled to be destroyed in the future. Until then, this building stands as a bleak reminder of the tortured souls who once occupied its rooms and halls.

We would love to hear your stories about the hospital during its operational years. Have something to share? Tell us about it in the comments.