It was know as the Lima State Hospital for the Criminally Insane. The article below tells when they broke it up and made several state prisons out of it. It was there I believe before 1900's. I grew up In Bath Township and had several relatives that worked there. It was a big grey building with lots of outer buildings. At one time they had their own farms and gardens and was pretty self productive . Inmates who were mild were allowed to work in the gardens and farms and in a small water dam which gave them water. The article on things that patients swallowed is confirmed by my sister as she worked for the Supervisor of Nurses and then worked her way to become a Human Resources Supervisor there before she retired after they made the prisons out of it. They are closing all of it now so I am not sure what will happen to the grounds Lima, Ohio - Collection of Objects Swallowed by People The entry for Lima, Ohio concerning the items swallowed by mental patients is not quite accurate. Dr. Yingling's display of swallowed items were from every day people, such as the father who swallowed the open diaper pin, or someone who swallowed a partial denture. There were buttons, pins, chicken bones, and lots of items that should never have been in someone's mouth! It is a fascinating display that very much impressed my children on our many visits to the Allen County Museum. Although Lima did house a State Hospital for the Criminally Insane (but no longer does), this stuff had nothing to do with it. The display isn't very big, and it is old. There are many unusual items on display at that museum that makes it a worthwhile stop for anyone. The miniature Mount Vernon comes to mind -- it's a complete working duplicate of Mount Vernon with everything miniaturized yet working. It takes up a complete room. There is a button collection that takes up a whole hallway. I have seen the albino animal collection, which are displayed with their normally colored counterparts. There is also a stuffed bird collection. Truly, it is the best overall museum of any I've seen. Lots of strange and morbid stuff for those interested, and lots of great stuff of historical value. [Linda Amey, 01/08/2001] Lima, Ohio - Things swallowed by Mental Patients A personal collection of a local doctor donated to the Allen County Museum, Lima, OH. [Janelle Lawrence] Decision To Close Prison RELATED LINK Lima Correctional WCPO.com neither endorses nor guarantees the content or availability of external links. Found in 1908 book on Ohio There are hospitals for the insane at Athens, Columbus, Dayton, Cleveland, Carthage (10 m. from Cincinnati; Longview Hospital), Massillon, Toledo and Lima; Reported by: AP 2/9/04 12:56:26 PM A state appeals court has ruled that Gov. Bob Taft can move forward with closing a state prison after overturning a lower court decision on Monday. The 3rd Ohio District Court of Appeals ruled that Taft has the authority to close the Lima Correctional Institution. Taft intended to close the prison on July 12 to save $25 million a year and ensure the state's finances remain in the black. However, Allen County Common Pleas Court Judge Richard Warren in August halted the shutdown, saying the governor lacked authority to close the prison. Warren ruled that Taft overstepped his authority because the Ohio Legislature never relinquished control of the prison it created in 1982. Taft spokesman Orest Holubec said the appeals court decision "confirms what we've been arguing." He said the prison's director is putting a plan together to move the remaining prisoners out of Lima. He said it will be done quickly but there is no timeline. The Ohio Civil Service Employees Association, which represented most of the workers at the state prison, filed the lawsuit seeking to keep the prison open. Union spokesman Peter Wray said they were still reviewing the appeals court decision and could not comment on it immediately. The prison, which had about 1,500 inmates when the closing was announced a year ago, now has about 440 prisoners and 410 employees. The state had started moving inmates to other prisons, but the county judge's ruling in August halted the transfer of inmates and the laying off prison employees. The prison opened in 1982 and was a state hospital for the criminally insane before being turned into a prison. The prison is on a site that also includes Allen Correctional Institution, Oakwood Correctional Facility, which is the state's psychiatric prison, and a community-based corrections facility. Closing the prison would be a blow to the city of Lima, which has estimated that the prison puts about $100 million a year into the local economy. The city gets about $300,000 in income tax a year from the prison. Restaurants and carryouts near the facility say their business would suffer. Norita Shepherd Moss Genealogy is my hobby. God is still my first Ancestor > [Original Message] > From: Lisa Thorn <[email protected]> > To: <[email protected]> > Date: 12/4/04 2:17:40 PM > Subject: [Allen Cty List] Bath state hospital? > > While researching a man who was in Allen County, Ohio, I found that he was a > patient in what looks like to be a state hospital. Was there a state > hospital in Bath in 1920? If not, what was the name of the hospital in Bath > at that time? > > Thanks, > Lisa Thorn > West Virginia > > > ==== OHALLEN Mailing List ==== > Allen County, Ohio - OHGenWeb Project > http://www.rootsweb.com/~ohallen/allmain.html > > ============================== > Search the US Census Collection. Over 140 million records added in the > last 12 months. Largest online collection in the world. Learn more: http://www.ancestry.com/s13965/rd.ashx