Embreeville State Hospital: 11 Photos Of The Abandoned Hospital

Hidden a little over 40 miles outside of Philadelphia, Embreeville State Hospital sits on 225 acres of once lush green grass. A glance at the sprawling abandoned hospital in Pennsylvania, with weeds surrounding the buildings that sport numerous broken windows, gives little clue to its vibrant past.

The now-abandoned hospital in New Bradford got its start in 1798 as the Chester County Almhouse. The facility housed the area's most needy: The poor, the mentally ill, and the homeless.

The Chester County Almhouse would evolve into the Chester County Poorhouse by the late 1800s. The poorhouse, which welcomed the mentally ill and the destitute, ran on a rather innovative concept.

Residents, who had the physical and mental ability, contributed to the care of the facility by doing chores including laundry. Within time, however, patients from other mental asylums began transferring to the Chester County Almhouse.

Chester County eventually purchased the Chester County Almhouse in 1914 and renamed the facility Embreeville State Hospital. With the name change also came a mission change.

With the purchase of the hospital by Chester County, the hospital began focusing solely on the care of the mentally ill from both Chester and Lancaster Counties. Over the years, buildings were added to the now-225-acre Embreeville campus.

Under the watch of Chester County, the hospital adopted what it coined an open ward policy. Doors to wards remained unlocked and, according to officials quoted at the time, the relaxed atmosphere led to less angst among the residents, a decline in the need for drugs, and fewer destructive incidents.

In fact, a Gettysburg Times article from 1968 cited pretty impressive statistics about the care of the residents at Embreeville State Hospital. Most patients, for example, were discharged from the hospital within 40 days.

What's more, the newspaper noted that 90 percent of all of the facility's residents left within a year. Of all those residents who were discharged each year, 80 percent had somewhere safe to go to rebuild their lives.

The impressive statistics coming out of Embreeville State Hospital earned the asylum a nod as one of the three best facilities in the country by the American Psychiatric Association. The hospital expanded in 1971 when a juvenile detention center was added to the property.

Embreeville State Hospital got caught up in a statewide consolidation of mental health facilities and closed in 1980. It sat abandoned - except for curiosity seekers - until it was purchased for nearly a million dollars in 2012.

Unfortunately, Embreeville State Hospital sits on private land. If you want to visit the property, obtain the owner's permission first or you risk being arrested for trespassing.

Click below to view a tour of Embreeville State Hospital in Pennsylvania. YouTube video by Chaz Pozzi.

Do you remember Embreeville State Hospital? And… if you’re still curious about abandoned hospitals in Philadelphia, check out the tragic story behind Philadelphia State Hospital. If you’re craving more you can take a look at our road trip to abandoned places in Philadelphia. Just make sure to check out our road trip packing list first so you don’t forget anything important.

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Beth Price-Williams | December 12, 2022

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