Utica State Hospital

The New York State Lunatic Asylum (later named Utica State Hospital) opened in 1843 as the first publicly funded institution in New York State designed to care for people with mental illness. The Greek Revival structure was designed by Captain William Clarke and funded by the state and contributions raised by Utica residents. Dr. Amariah Brigham, the first superintendent, served from 1842–1849 and, in 1844, became one of the original founders of the APA.

One year later, Dr. Brigham established a print shop, where he published the American Journal of Insanity (later named the American Journal of Psychiatry). The journal, the first of its kind to be published in the English language, grew Utica's reputation worldwide as a center of psychiatry. Within two years of opening, the asylum was operating at full capacity, and wings were added on either end of the main building, which were ready for occupancy in 1846.