Archival Patient Records 1869 - 1911
Patients were first admitted to the St. Louis County Insane Asylum on Arsenal Street in April, 1869. In 1876, with the political split between St. Louis County and St. Louis City, the asylum came under City jurisdiction and was called the St. Louis City Asylum. In the 1920s the facility was known as the St. Louis City Sanitarium. In the 1940s the facility came under the auspices of the Missouri Division of Mental Diseases, and was named the St. Louis State Hospital. In the 1990s the name was once again changed to St. Louis Psychiatric Rehabilitation Center. The patients listed in the asylum records from 1869 - 1911 were under the County and later the City authorities, not the State.
The Library has the original patient record books from 1869 through 1911, plus microfilmed copies of the record books. With authorized permission, individuals doing mental health history research or genealogical research may use the microfilmed copies for their study. Prior to planning to use the archival records please contact the MIMH Librarian at christina.sullivan@mimh.edu or 314-877-6516 for further information and guidelines.