6. Thiells, New York; Letchworth Village
Place: Thallels, New York
1911 is the year.
The cost of the 2022 development plan is $2 million.
The small village of Thiells, New York, has a troubled past. Thiells was founded in 1911 as the location of a progressive utopian town experiment. Over 2,000 acres were home to 130 buildings housing 2,000 mentally ill patients, making the entire town a mental health facility. Known as Letchworth Village, the expansive facility isolated people with mental illnesses, despite being innovative at the time.
Thiells, New York’s Letchworth Village, @atlasobscura/Pinterest
Letchworth gradually overflowed, and most of its patients were children, despite its noble beginnings. In addition, the municipality lacked sufficient manpower, and over time, reports of abuse and human rights breaches multiplied. Letchworth even used its children as test subjects for experimental vaccines prior to closing in 1996.
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