District Training School for the Feeble Minded – Laurel MD

City:
Laurel, MD

Site Type:
Education and Health, Civic Facilities, Schools, Hospitals and Clinics

New Deal Agencies:
Public Works Funding, Public Works Administration (PWA)

Started:
1938

Quality of Information:
Moderate

Site Survival:
Extant

Description

In 1938, the Washington Post reported funding allocations for work at the District Training School for the Feeble Minded, which opened in 1925: “About 70 men will be employed on the construction of the hospital and administration building at the District Training School for Feeble Minded at Laurel, Md.” The site was later known as the infamous Forest Haven Asylum, which closed in 1991 amid scandal over patient abuse and neglect. The sprawling facility still stands, and is a popular place for photographers and “ghost hunters.” Unfortunately, few if any photos exist of the years when the facility was in good repair and a leader in care for the developmentally disabled.

Source notes

“Jobs for 2,300 here assured in PWA work,” Washington Post, October 26, 1938, p. X17 Pablo Maurer, "Abandoned D.C.: Inside The Ruins Of The Forest Haven Asylum," DCist, November 18, 2013, accessed March 2015.

Site originally submitted by Brent McKee - wpatoday.org on March 17, 2015.

Location Info


1st St. and Forest Haven Ave.
Laurel, MD 20724
Prince George's County

Coordinates: 39.098765, -76.786328

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