By act of the legislature passed on April 30, 1864, the secretary of the State Medical Society, Dr. Sylvester D. Willard, was authorized to investigate the condition of the insane poor in the various poorhouses, almshouses, insane asylums, and other institutions throughout the state (except those required by law to report to the legislature), and to transmit the acquired information to county judges in the state. Each judge then appointed a physician to visit the institutions where the insane poor were kept, to examine their condition and treatment. Secretary Willard then reported the results of these inspections to the legislature. He died before passage of a law creating a new institution for the insane, but his work was recognized by naming the facility in his honor. Chapter 342 of the Laws of 1865 authorized establishment of this state asylum for the chronic insane and for the better care of the insane poor, to be known as the Willard Asylum for the Insane. The board of trustees was organized on May 15, 1869, succeeding to the duties and powers of the commissioners and former trustees previously charged with building the asylum at the State Agricultural College Farm at Ovid, Seneca County. The asylum was modeled on the State Lunatic Asylum at Utica, which had been organized nearly two decades earlier (Chapter 135 of the Laws of 1842). Subsequent legislation appointed successors to the Willard Asylum trustees (Laws of 1869, Chapter 822), and provided appropriations for salaries, fixed the rate for patients' board, and set the terms of the trustees (Laws of 1872, Chapter 541). Operation, oversight, care and treatment, and reporting requirements were governed by Chapter 446 of the Laws of 1874, which revised and consolidated statutes regarding the care and custody of the insane, management of asylums (including Willard) for their treatment and safekeeping, and the duties of the State Commissioner in Lunacy. Later the sweeping "Insanity Law" of 1896 (Chapter 545) pertained. The institution was renamed the Willard State Hospital according to Chapter 132 of the Laws of 1890. State hospitals for the care and custody of the insane were supported from patients. Managers were appointed by the governor with consent of the senate. The facility became Willard Psychiatric Center according to Chapter 558 of the Laws of 1974. That law established, within the Department of Mental Hygiene, hospitals constituting psychiatric in-patient facilities for the care and treatment of the mentally disabled, and for research and teaching in the science and skills required for their care and treatment. Willard Psychiatric Center was closed on May 1, 1995. Staff and services were transferred to the Binghamton Psychiatric Center. Initial plans projected eventual takeover by the Department of Correctional Services and conversion of the facility into a drug treatment center.
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The Willard Psychiatric Center was part of a statewide mental health care system designed to meet the needs of the mentally ill. Under the jurisdiction of the Office of Mental Health, such centers provide psychiatric in-patient facilities for the care and treatment of the mentally disabled, and for research and teaching in the science and skills required for the care and treatment of the mentally ill. Willard was within the designated service district for residents of Cayuga, Ontario, Schuyler, Seneca, Steuben, Tompkins, Wayne, and Yates counties. Visitation and inspection to control the quality of service was by a 7-member board of visitors appointed by the governor with the consent of the senate. The director of the center was appointed by the commissioner of Mental Health with approval of the board of visitors.
L.1865, Ch. 342; L. 1869, Ch. 822; L. 1872, Ch. 541; L. 1874, Ch. 446; L. 1890, Ch. 132; L. 1896, Ch. 545; L. 1974, Ch. 558.
