Connecticut Retreat for the Insane
aka Hartford Retreat, Institute of LivingHartford, Connecticut
Established 1823Grounds landscaped by Frederick Law Olmstead
The Fellows of the Connecticut State Medical Society voted to petition the state legislature for an act of incorporation and funding of a public institution for the care of people with mental illness. The legislature did so and, on January 27, 1823, the Society voted to locate the facility at Hartford, on land owned by Ira Todd. The Connecticut Retreat for the Insane, later named the Hartford Retreat, opened for the admission of patients in 1824.
The Connecticut Retreat's name and humane philosophy of treatment were patterned after those of the York Retreat, in England. The first superintendent of the Hartford Retreat was Eli Todd. The institution's name has changed several times but was called the Hartford Retreat for many years. It is now named the Institute of Living.
- from "Street, W. R. (1994). A Chronology of Noteworthy Events in American Psychology. Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association. Addenda", with permission
The Institute of Living is in operation asa modern institution. Please see this map, and the IOL web site.
