11 Staggering Photos Of Abandoned Embreeville State Hospital

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

The now-abandoned Embreeville State 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.

YouTube/Chaz Pozzi

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.

YouTube/Chaz Pozzi

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.

YouTube/Chaz Pozzi

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.

YouTube/Chaz Pozzi

With the purchase of the hospital by Chester County, Embreeville State 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.

YouTube/Chaz Pozzi

Under the watch of Chester County, Embreeville State 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.

YouTube/Chaz Pozzi

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.

YouTube/Chaz Pozzi

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.

YouTube/Chaz Pozzi

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.

YouTube/Chaz Pozzi

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.

YouTube/Chaz Pozzi

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.

YouTube/Chaz Pozzi

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

YouTube/Chaz Pozzi

Do you remember Embreeville State Hospital? And…have you heard the tragic story behind Philadelphia State Hospital?

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Abandoned Places In Pennsylvania December 12, 2022 Beth Price-Williams What are some other abandoned places in Pennsylvania?

Get a glimpse of this abandoned amusement park in Pennsylvania. (You can’t visit it, but you can check out some really fascinating photos.) Set off on a picturesque hike that leads to an abandoned town in Pennsylvania. Explore this abandoned road in Pennsylvania, a forgotten section of the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Lace up those hiking boots for a trek to abandoned cement kilns in Pennsylvania. Learn more about this abandoned prison in Pennsylvania that was once a sanatorium.

Are there any haunted places in Pennsylvania worth visiting? Pennsylvania is teeming with the paranormal. That means we have a long list of haunted places in Pennsylvania that are worth visiting, including:

Plan a getaway to Easton, one of the most haunted towns in Pennsylvania. Gettysburg is, hands down, one of the most haunted places in Pennsylvania. Visit eight of the most haunted cemeteries in Pennsylvania – if you dare. Take a deep breath before driving down the most haunted roads in Pennsylvania. Book a stay at one of the most haunted hotels in Pennsylvania. (Don’t worry; the ghosts are friendly.)

Next time you’re hungry for a delicious meal AND a side of the paranormal, visit one of these haunted restaurants in Pennsylvania. What are some of the most unique road trips in Pennsylvania? Road trips in Pennsylvania are so much fun because we have so amazing places to visit. Here are some of the best road trips in Pennsylvania.

Take this road trip to the most haunted places in Pennsylvania. Brace yourself for this haunted road trip through Pennsylvania. Go on a haunting road trip to some of the spookiest ghost towns in Pennsylvania. Road trip to the most haunted hotels in Pennsylvania. Hit the road on this road trip to these abandoned places in Pennsylvania.

The OIYS Visitor Center

Abandoned Places In Pennsylvania

December 12, 2022

Beth Price-Williams

What are some other abandoned places in Pennsylvania?

The OIYS Visitor Center

Get a glimpse of this abandoned amusement park in Pennsylvania. (You can’t visit it, but you can check out some really fascinating photos.)
Set off on a picturesque hike that leads to an abandoned town in Pennsylvania.
Explore this abandoned road in Pennsylvania, a forgotten section of the Pennsylvania Turnpike.
Lace up those hiking boots for a trek to abandoned cement kilns in Pennsylvania.
Learn more about this abandoned prison in Pennsylvania that was once a sanatorium.

Are there any haunted places in Pennsylvania worth visiting?

Pennsylvania is teeming with the paranormal. That means we have a long list of haunted places in Pennsylvania that are worth visiting, including:

Plan a getaway to Easton, one of the most haunted towns in Pennsylvania.
Gettysburg is, hands down, one of the most haunted places in Pennsylvania.
Visit eight of the most haunted cemeteries in Pennsylvania – if you dare.
Take a deep breath before driving down the most haunted roads in Pennsylvania.
Book a stay at one of the most haunted hotels in Pennsylvania. (Don’t worry; the ghosts are friendly.)

Next time you’re hungry for a delicious meal AND a side of the paranormal, visit one of these haunted restaurants in Pennsylvania.

What are some of the most unique road trips in Pennsylvania?

Road trips in Pennsylvania are so much fun because we have so amazing places to visit. Here are some of the best road trips in Pennsylvania.

Take this road trip to the most haunted places in Pennsylvania.
Brace yourself for this haunted road trip through Pennsylvania.
Go on a haunting road trip to some of the spookiest ghost towns in Pennsylvania.
Road trip to the most haunted hotels in Pennsylvania.
Hit the road on this road trip to these abandoned places in Pennsylvania.