A Revolutionary Place: Treating Mental Illness at Williamsburg's Public Hospital

The Colony of Virginia created a purpose-built mental health facility, the first of its kind in the British America. Gov. Francis Fauquier inspired the Burgesses, asking them to consider the humanity of “a poor unhappy set of People who are deprived of their Senses.” Prior to the Hospital, many Virginians suffering from mental illness would be cared for at home; others were jailed, and the most unfortunate suffered homelessness.