A History of Mental Health

in South Carolina

Early Laws dealing with the Mentally Ill

• 1694 – Lord Proprietors declared that the mentally ill should be cared for by local governments.

• 1751 – SC Colonial government required masters or local governments to care for slaves with mental illnesses.

• 1762 – Fellowship Society of Charleston built a hospital for the mentally ill.

Creation of the Lunatic Asylum

• 1821 – Colonel Samuel Farrow (Representative from Spartanburg County) and Major William Crafts (Senator from Charleston County) pushed a bill that provided $30,000 to build the SC Lunatic Asylum.

• Robert Mills was chosen to design the asylum

Colonel

Samuel

Farrow

Major Willia

m Crafts

Creation of the Lunatic Asylum

• 1822 – Cornerstone was laid for the Asylum. Construction was completed in 1828.

• The Asylum had fire-proof ceilings, a central heating system, and a roof garden.

• The first patient was a young woman from Barnwell County.

1830 Lunatic Asylum

Commissioner’s Report

1842 Report

CreditsAll images borrowed from

http://www.state.sc.us/dmh/history.htm