Inside the abandoned Henryton State Hospital
For years, the old Henryton State Hospital has sat abandoned in rural southeastern Carroll County as officials decide what to do next with the decaying psychiatric facility. Closed since 1985, there have been 70 fires over the past decade, as the complex like others, falls victim to vandalism and deterioration. Long fascinated by urban explorers, take a look inside the Henryton State Hospital.
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- A view of the rear of the main building in the Henryton complex. Originally built in 1922 as a sanitarium for African-Americans with tuberculosis, it was employed four decades later as a facility for developmentally disabled adults. Closed since 1985, there’ve been 70 fires there over the past decade and other acts of vandalism. The abandoned buildings are slated for demolition, but no date is set. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)
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- An opening in a floor shows one of many areas where vandals have set fires in fhe Henryton complex. ÒWeÕre concerned about anyone possibly being injured on the property, whether itÕs an intruder or firefighter or EMS personnel,Ó said William E. Barnard, the state fire marshal. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)
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- The Henryton complex, originally built in 1922 as a sanitarium for African-Americans with tuberculosis. Four decades later it was employed as a facility for developmentally disabled adults. The facility has been closed since 1985. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)
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- A tree pushes its way through asphalt on the side of the main building in the Henryton complex. Years after Maryland and most states largely abandoned institutional psychiatric care in favor of community-oriented treatment, some former hospitals remain vacant as officials puzzle over what to do with them. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)
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- The Henryton complex near Marriottsville, closed since 1985, has deteriorated over the years from white elephant to potentially dangerous nuisance. Worried that someone is going to get hurt, local officials have been pressing the state to demolish it, and the end now may be near, with a state official vowing to try to start work in May. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)
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- The Henryton complex, originally built in 1922 as a sanitarium for African-Americans with tuberculosis. Four decades later it was employed as a facility for developmentally disabled adults. The facility has been closed since 1985. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)
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- A detail photograph of flaking paint at the Henryton complex. Places like Henryton and Rosewood emptied out as health care evolved from institutionalizing patients, ostensibly for their own protection, to providing community-based services that would allow them to continue living with their families or in group homes. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)
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- Broken and rusted window panes give a view into the dilapidated ruins of Henryton hospital. in the 35-building complex, according to information on file at the Maryland Historical Trust. It was converted in 1962 to a residential facility for the developmentally disabled, and closed nearly three decades ago. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun Staff)
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- Evidence of a fire on an upper floor of the main building of the Henryton complex. There’ve been 70 fires there over the past decade, including one within the last two weeks, local fire officials say. The abandoned buildings are slated for demolition, but no date is set. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)
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- Vines creep up an outside wall of a building on the Henryton complex. Originally built in 1922 as a sanitarium for African-Americans with tuberculosis and employed four decades later as a facility for developmentally disabled adults, it closed in 1985. The abandoned buildings are slated for demolition, but no date is set. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)
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- The Henryton complex near Marriottsville, closed since 1985, has deteriorated over the years from white elephant to potentially dangerous nuisance. Worried that someone is going to get hurt, local officials have been pressing the state to demolish it, and the end now may be near, with a state official vowing to try to start work in May. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)
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- The Henryton complex near Marriottsville, closed since 1985, has deteriorated over the years from white elephant to potentially dangerous nuisance. Worried that someone is going to get hurt, local officials have been pressing the state to demolish it, and the end now may be near, with a state official vowing to try to start work in May. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)
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- The Henryton complex, closed since 1985, has had 70 fires over the past decade, including one within the last two weeks, local fire officials say. The abandoned buildings are slated for demolition, but no date is set. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)
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- Detail of asbestos floor tiles on the first floor of the main building in the Henryton complex. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)
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- Thick vines cover a portion of the facade of the main building on the grounds of Henryton. ÒIt is a very beautiful piece of property, said Del. Susan W. Krebs, a Carroll County Republican. ÒYou walk back there off Henryton Road and say, ÔWow! Look what it used to be.Ó But the awe quickly turns to dismay, she said.ÒEvery square inch has been desecrated. Every window has been knocked out, every piece of metal stripped out. It has been just totally violated. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore)
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- Thick vines cover a portion of the facade of the main building on the grounds of Henryton. “It is a very beautiful piece of property, said Del. Susan W. Krebs, a Carroll County Republican. “You walk back there off Henryton Road and say, ‘Wow! Look what it used to be.'” But the awe quickly turns to dismay, she said. “Every square inch has been desecrated.” (Kim Hairston/Baltimore)
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- The Henryton complex, originally built in 1922 as a sanitarium for African-Americans with tuberculosis. Four decades later it was employed as a facility for developmentally disabled adults. Closed since 1985, there’ve been 70 fires there over the past decade, including one within the last two weeks, local fire officials say. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)
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- Spray paint used in graffiti on the main building in the Henryton complex also colors ivy. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)
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- Spray paint used in graffiti on the main building in the Henryton complex also colors ivy. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)
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- Detail of a window lock and broken pane in a building in the Henryton complex. Since Henryton closed, there have been several fruitless attempts to sell it off for development or lease it for use as a drug treatment center. One developer envisioned turning it into an equestrian resort, taking advantage of popular horseback riding trails in the adjoining McKeldin Area of Patapsco Valley State Park. But the site lacks public water and sewer(Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)
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- There have been more than 70 fires at the Henryton complex, over the past decade, according to fire officials, the most recent one March 17 when a wooden cottage burned down. Firefighters from Sykesville were joined in responding to the blaze by others from Baltimore, Carroll and Howard counties. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)
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- A hole in a floor in the main building on the grounds of the Henryton complex. The Henryton complex near Marriottsville, closed since 1985, has deteriorated over the years from white elephant to potentially dangerous nuisance. Worried that someone is going to get hurt, local officials have been pressing the state to demolish it. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)
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- One of the buildings on the grounds of the Henryton complex, lies in ruins after a recent fire. The facility closed in1985. There’ve been 70 fires there over the past decade, local fire officials say. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)
Abandoned Henryton hospital slated for demolition
By Timothy B. Wheeler, The Baltimore Sun
March 31, 2013 | 1:52 p.m.
Perched on a wooded bluff in rural southeastern Carroll County, the old Henryton State Hospital bears silent witness to the ravages of decades of neglect and vandalism. First opened in 1923, the 18-building complex that once housed the sick and handicapped now appears beyond hope of recovery itself.
Windows gape. Trees reach to the sky through roofs that have caved in or burned. Graffiti and vines cover stucco and brick walls. Broken glass and beer cans litter the ground, along with debris from the crumbling structures.
“Things fall apart,” reads one of the spray-painted tags, many of them profane, that festoon the walls.
Years after Maryland and most states largely abandoned institutional psychiatric care in favor of community-oriented treatment, some former hospitals remain vacant as officials puzzle over what to do with them.
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F.Hartmann
Sep 24, 2013 @ 03:08:32
Wonderful Pictures. Urban exploring is amazing!
M Burke
Sep 23, 2013 @ 11:58:18
How is the security situation there? I am looking to take some photographs there and I am not interested in getting reprimanded or fined for taking photos.
Lew
Apr 01, 2013 @ 13:14:03
Was this facility use to house African American patients with TB?
I heard this was a segregated hospital for poor folks.
Stokely Baksh
Apr 01, 2013 @ 13:21:55
The Henryton complex was built as a sanatorium for African-Americans diagnosed with tuberculosis. It was later converted in 1962 to a residential facility for the developmentally disabled. For more info: Abandoned Henryton hospital slated for demolition