This Eerie And Fantastic Footage Takes You Inside Washington’s Abandoned Northern State Hospital
Sedro-Woolley is a small city in Skagit County best known for being a gateway to the beautiful North Cascades. It also happens to be home to the remains of Northern State Hospital, one of those most well-known — and most controversial — mental institution in Pacific Northwest History. Now known as Northern State Ghost Town, it has been reduced to a series of dilapidated structures covered in graffiti and a few mementos of the times.
While you can visit the property, stepping inside the buildings is highly discouraged (and may even be prohibited at this point) because of their condition. However, this knowledgeable YouTuber managed to get some amazing (and eerie) footage of the property as well as dig up some rather fascinating (and disturbing) facts.
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The Northern State Hospital was designed in 1909 as a state-of-the-art, self-sustaining occupational therapy and treatment facility for the mentally ill.
It was masterfully designed and thought to be ahead of its time in many ways. There was already an over-crowded hospital in Steilacoom, so this was a much-needed addition to Washington.
The property was designed by the Olmsted Brothers and Saunders & Lawton, a renowned architectural agency.
One could be committed to the asylum for alcoholism, epilepsy, or even accusations that turned out to be false. Many patients died here, and some died under very suspicious circumstances.
With the advancement of psychotropic drugs and the treatment of mental illnesses, the hospital closed its doors in 1973 when they lost their state funding.
The property was abandoned practically overnight. And for years, the entire compound was restricted. But over the last several years, Skagit County Parks and the Port of Skagit County have teamed up to work to allow access to more parts of the campus.
Want to see the property for yourself? This video has some outstanding footage that rivals any virtual tour we’ve ever seen. Note that we at OnlyInYourState have not researched the validity of every claim made in this video, and some of the information is pretty disturbing. Enjoy at your own risk.
Jessica Wick is a writer and travel enthusiast who loves exploring new places, meeting new people and, of course, beautiful Big Sky Country and every part of Washington State.
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