
Dixmont State Hospital Cemetery
Posted by:
renruts
N 40° 31.509 W 080° 06.681
17T E 575271 N 4486425
Located in Kilbuck Township, not far from the massive landside possibly caused by what we will call Fall-Mart, is the old Dixmont State Hospital Cemetery. Some wonder if the slide was caused by supernatural powers. Visit yourself to have a look!
Waymark Code: WM1TP0
Location: Pennsylvania, United States
Date Posted: 07/08/2007
Views: 148
In Kilbuck Township, PA, this cemetery, still owned by the state, contains about 1300 graves with nothing but a number on a simple stone marking each sight.
Dixmont Hospital was a mental institution named after Dorothea Dix, a famous mental health rights activist. Construction started in 1856 and its doors opened in 1862. In 1984 they closed their doors and soon after, buildings started coming down. The property, covering close to 400 acres, was like a small town! Today, all that is left is the cemetery.
Most of the patients were buried in wicker coffins and pine boxes. The graves were dug in straight lines, but today, the lines aren't so straight. They have slowly been sliding a little too!
Read more about state hospitals and their cemeteries
in an essay by Kirsten Anderberg at
this link.
If you have any additional information, please let me know or post a link in your log. Thanks!