Friends Asylum

Located north of Philadelphia, in 1813, the Friends Asylum for the Relief of Persons Deprived of the Use of Their Reason became the first privately run psychiatric hospital in the nation. The Society of Friends (Quakers) built the asylum ten miles outside the city, which provided a peaceful place where the patients were trained to work on the farm or in other activities to give them a sense of self-worth.

In 1817, the Friends Asylum opened its doors and, during its first year, admitted nineteen patients who eventually were cured and were able to integrate back into society. Thomas Scattergood, a Quaker minister, called for the moral treatment of patients, and this model of treating all persons, despite their disabilities, with kindness, dignity, and respect became the core mission of the hospital.