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  1. Upcoming Public Tour of Willard Asylum for the Insane - Home in the Finger Lakes
    December 22, 2014 @ 5:54 am

    […] I did attend the tour! You can find all my pictures and posts from the day HERE.  My friend Chris Clemens over at Exploring Upstate also attended and wrote an excellent post about the History and Tour of Willard also. […]

  2. Christ Episcopal Church & the Willard Psychiatric Center – Willard, NY » Exploring The Burned Over District
    December 22, 2014 @ 2:42 pm

    […] Willard Asylum for the Insane would go through a few name changes, but always continued to treat the mentally […]

  3. Carol Hillman
    December 23, 2014 @ 1:22 pm

    Willard is currently a treatment/correctional facility run by OASIS and parole and is not a standard Correctional Facility. 5 Points is a totally separate facility run by NYSDOCCS. Someone needs to do their homework

    • Chris
      December 23, 2014 @ 6:12 pm

      Hey Carol– You’re 100% correct, I got my facts mixed up. Thanks for reading through and taking the time to leave a comment with the correct information, the input is helpful!!

    • Laura Lynch
      December 23, 2014 @ 8:15 pm

      Technically Willard Drug Treatment Center is also operated by NYSDOCCS in collaboration with OASAS. It is a 90day “shock/boot” camp style program for low level offenders and parole violaters with drug/alcohol issues. Like Carol indicated, this facility is located on the old Willard Psychiatric Hospital Campus.

      • Chris
        December 23, 2014 @ 10:16 pm

        Thank you both for being so helpful in me getting the facts straight. I’ve provided an edit within the post referencing the correct info!

  4. Bob C
    December 24, 2014 @ 2:14 pm

    and I think there is a cost for the tour??

    • Chris
      December 24, 2014 @ 2:15 pm

      You are correct Bob. Last year i think it was $20. Since I’m not an official representive of the historical society, I didn’t want to publish a ticket price in case it changed.

      • Jennifer
        May 15, 2015 @ 12:33 pm

        The cost this year is $10 per ticket!

  5. laurie
    December 24, 2014 @ 5:48 pm

    i found your article quite interesting. i had a relative that was in Willard back in the 1960’s and he passed away there. i would love to tour the facility but my disability won’t allow me to do all that walking.

  6. Geraldine Somers
    December 28, 2014 @ 12:41 pm

    I worked in Sunnycrest for 12 years and loved every minute of it I worked with females and remember Mary Murphy also male service with Big George everyone was afraid of him but workers would have him lift trucks and laugh but he would get sick after and loved me as I would give him hell as his body could not tolerate it anymore Yes there are stories to be told but they needed help just as you and I there problems were real some would get discharge and come back as they had gotten instutionalized and could not make it on the outside I also worked in roll playing and was attacked as I reminded him of his mother He felt so bad after when we were done but it really helped him. I moved to Florida and was sick ther was no hospital down here anywhere as I would have gone back.

    • Linda Jeanne Najar
      March 1, 2017 @ 5:03 pm

      I also worked at Willard Psychiatric Center as a Youth Opportunity worker in Sunnycroft and the Birches Infirmary for several years. My Aunt Donna worked there as a nurse, along with my step father Jimmy Clair as an Attendant. I would be very interested in attending a tour as it is a huge part of my childhood and teen years. I sang at Hadley Hall in one of the talent contest auditions and used to attend the Saturday matinees and have lunch afterward downstairs. My Uncle Gaylord Poth worked there for many years and then later at the new facility Dick van Dyke Alcohol Units along with my Aunt Kaye Poth as well and they lived very close by. I remember the Willard Picnics as a highlight to attend growing up with live music and food all day and well into the evening. We wore white uniforms and were there when wards were starting to be unlocked so it was an exciting time of change and a huge education. My step dad worked 3-11 and retired from Willard and was greatly loved by many. He actually spent many hours bending silver spoons for so many staff to wear their keys on and it became very popular for staff to have their own unique silver crafted spoon key chain. I remember the baked bread and cold milk for dinner and large bowls of fresh cooked pink buttered rutabaga that was grown on Willard farms. I remember sitting in large rooms with pastel colored leather seats on heavy metal chairs that went all the way around these rooms with bars on the windows and a television up in the corner. I smoked a corncob pipe with an individual who gave me that pipe and told me how to chew tobacco. It did not last when I got home though. I loved working there and have so many wonderful memories of the incredible people we served.

  7. Jessica T.
    December 31, 2014 @ 4:45 pm

    I took care of a man who was in willard. I couldn’t figure out why he was so distant at my initial home visit & a few days into working at the house & reading his history I could see why he acted the way he did. once I was there for a while he came around, was a very nice, caring & outgoing man. I love working with the people I work with. they’ve changed my life in so many ways.

  8. Nancy
    January 6, 2015 @ 10:24 pm

    How do we get to sign up for the tour…

    • Chris
      April 18, 2015 @ 6:05 pm

      Hi Nancy….Walking tours of the grounds and facilities will take place on Saturday, May 16th, 2015 at 9am and 1pm. Tickets are available for $10 (children under 10 are free) and will be sold the day of the event at Camp Edgemere. More information is available on the Facebook Page for the Elizabeth Cady Stanton Child Care Center.

  9. Elizabeth a Prentice
    January 7, 2015 @ 8:02 am

    I would like to go on this tour info please

    • Chris
      April 18, 2015 @ 6:06 pm

      Hi Elizabeth…Walking tours of the grounds and facilities will take place on Saturday, May 16th, 2015 at 9am and 1pm. Tickets are available for $10 (children under 10 are free) and will be sold the day of the event at Camp Edgemere. More information is available on the Facebook Page for the Elizabeth Cady Stanton Child Care Center.

  10. Kelly
    January 8, 2015 @ 2:34 pm

    When is the tour?!

    • Chris
      April 18, 2015 @ 6:15 pm

      Hi Kelly…Walking tours of the grounds and facilities will take place on Saturday, May 16th, 2015 at 9am and 1pm. Tickets are available for $10 (children under 10 are free) and will be sold the day of the event at Camp Edgemere. More information is available on the Facebook Page for the Elizabeth Cady Stanton Child Care Center.

      • Elizabeth Gannon-Horton
        April 9, 2016 @ 10:45 am

        Hi Chris,
        Do you have any info on a tour for 2016?
        Our Book Club just read “What she left behind” & would really enjoy joining the tour!

        • Chris
          April 9, 2016 @ 10:52 am

          Hey Elizabeth—haven’t seen anything published for this year’s tour yet. In previous years they’ve announced just weeks ahead of time. So, if they are doing it again, it’d be too early to know yet still.

      • Wayne Wright
        April 10, 2023 @ 1:52 am

        Hi Chris, I am very interested in taking a tour of Willard Asylum, I tried to look on Elizabeth Cady Stanton child care center, and wasn’t able to find anything. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
        Wayne Wright

        • Chris Clemens
          April 10, 2023 @ 8:13 am

          Hello Wayne,

          The tours stopped years ago after they got out of hand. If you search for news (maybe 2017?) you’ll find some stories about their last tour. I’m fairly certain the child care center is no longer operating.

          Sorry!

  11. Machelle Trzaskos
    January 9, 2015 @ 7:30 pm

    Would love tour information. My email is machelledrinkwine@hotmail.com if there is some type of list?

    • Chris
      April 18, 2015 @ 6:12 pm

      Hi Machelle… There isn’t a list, it’s first come-first serve. Walking tours of the grounds and facilities will take place on Saturday, May 16th, 2015 at 9am and 1pm. Tickets are available for $10 (children under 10 are free) and will be sold the day of the event at Camp Edgemere. More information is available on the Facebook Page for the Elizabeth Cady Stanton Child Care Center.

  12. Diane Nadon
    January 11, 2015 @ 9:17 pm

    I too would love tour info!! I live about six hours away but would love to come to this.

    • Chris
      April 18, 2015 @ 6:16 pm

      Hi Diane…Walking tours of the grounds and facilities will take place on Saturday, May 16th, 2015 at 9am and 1pm. Tickets are available for $10 (children under 10 are free) and will be sold the day of the event at Camp Edgemere. More information is available on the Facebook Page for the Elizabeth Cady Stanton Child Care Center.

  13. Rolling Hills Asylum - East Bethany, NY |
    January 25, 2015 @ 8:55 am

    […] began to provide residential care for New Yorkers as early as 1736. If you read my post about the Willard Asylum for the Chronic Insane you already know that in the early 1800’s officials began to concern themselves with the type […]

  14. Sharon L. Mistretta
    January 29, 2015 @ 3:16 pm

    Please post the Tour Dates when you know them for May 2015. I would like to go on the tour to see where my Great-Great-Grandmother was housed. THX

    • Chris
      April 18, 2015 @ 6:17 pm

      Hi Sharon…Walking tours of the grounds and facilities will take place on Saturday, May 16th, 2015 at 9am and 1pm. Tickets are available for $10 (children under 10 are free) and will be sold the day of the event at Camp Edgemere. More information is available on the Facebook Page for the Elizabeth Cady Stanton Child Care Center.

  15. wendy Hatch
    February 5, 2015 @ 3:01 pm

    would like more information on the tour for 2015 please— thank you

    • Chris
      April 18, 2015 @ 6:18 pm

      Hi Wendy…Walking tours of the grounds and facilities will take place on Saturday, May 16th, 2015 at 9am and 1pm. Tickets are available for $10 (children under 10 are free) and will be sold the day of the event at Camp Edgemere. More information is available on the Facebook Page for the Elizabeth Cady Stanton Child Care Center.

      • Connie Rhodes
        May 4, 2018 @ 6:38 pm

        This is a fascinating article, but very misleading about tours for 2018. Went two years ago and was turned away. Very poor organization for tours.

        • Chris Clemens
          May 4, 2018 @ 10:05 pm

          Hi Connie. This was written in 2014 after the tour that year. It has nothing to do with any tour other than the one done that year.

  16. Tracey Martz
    February 8, 2015 @ 10:37 pm

    I worked there as a youth op. And my relatives also worked there. My grandparents had a house across the street.

    • MaryPat
      April 18, 2015 @ 10:03 pm

      My husband, Tom McCann Boak, worked with Louis Martz in Grandview. Any relation? My husband worked there 26 1\2 years until it closed.

      • Rosemary Cullen
        September 23, 2015 @ 12:43 pm

        Hi I’m trying to trace information on my grandfather who was in Willard. I hope to take the tour next year if it is still available.
        My grandad was Sylvester Cullen who died in Willard in September 1971, at the age of 73. by any change to you think your husband ever came across him there?

        rosemary cullen (co cavan ireland)

  17. Joan Clark
    February 9, 2015 @ 4:18 pm

    Would also like info on tour dates

    • Chris
      April 18, 2015 @ 6:20 pm

      Hi Joan…Walking tours of the grounds and facilities will take place on Saturday, May 16th, 2015 at 9am and 1pm. Tickets are available for $10 (children under 10 are free) and will be sold the day of the event at Camp Edgemere. More information is available on the Facebook Page for the Elizabeth Cady Stanton Child Care Center.

  18. Deb worth
    February 9, 2015 @ 6:19 pm

    I would also like tour dates and contact information as to how to attend

    • Chris
      April 18, 2015 @ 6:21 pm

      Hi Deb…Walking tours of the grounds and facilities will take place on Saturday, May 16th, 2015 at 9am and 1pm. Tickets are available for $10 (children under 10 are free) and will be sold the day of the event at Camp Edgemere. More information is available on the Facebook Page for the Elizabeth Cady Stanton Child Care Center.

  19. Barbara
    February 10, 2015 @ 8:55 pm

    The building referred to as a “nursing station” was actually the nursing school which was one of the best in the state for years. Seeing these pictures brought back a lot of memories since I graduated from that school

  20. b walsh
    February 19, 2015 @ 7:28 pm

    Why was nothing mentioned about their excellent nursing school? My sister graduated from Willard in the early seventies.

  21. Barb Russell
    February 28, 2015 @ 8:45 am

    Hi Chris, My parents worked there for many years. I would love to be able to take my mom on this tour. Where can I find the information to sign up?

    • Chris
      April 18, 2015 @ 6:22 pm

      Hi Barb, there’s no sign up, just first come/first serve. Walking tours of the grounds and facilities will take place on Saturday, May 16th, 2015 at 9am and 1pm. Tickets are available for $10 (children under 10 are free) and will be sold the day of the event at Camp Edgemere. More information is available on the Facebook Page for the Elizabeth Cady Stanton Child Care Center.

  22. Karen
    March 6, 2015 @ 11:20 pm

    Thanks for the write-up and photos! Seems like a great tour and hope I can manage to do it. What didn’t you like about the Buffalo Asylum tour? Would you not recommend it?

  23. Brooke
    March 21, 2015 @ 12:49 pm

    Hi, when are the 2015 dates? Prices? How do
    I sign up? I would LOVE this opportunity.

    • Chris
      April 18, 2015 @ 6:23 pm

      Hey Brooke…No sign up, just first come/first served. Walking tours of the grounds and facilities will take place on Saturday, May 16th, 2015 at 9am and 1pm. Tickets are available for $10 (children under 10 are free) and will be sold the day of the event at Camp Edgemere. More information is available on the Facebook Page for the Elizabeth Cady Stanton Child Care Center.

  24. Melanie
    March 24, 2015 @ 10:01 pm

    I too would like to know how to book a tour for 2015! Please let me know!

    • Chris
      April 18, 2015 @ 6:27 pm

      Hi Melanie…Walking tours of the grounds and facilities will take place on Saturday, May 16th, 2015 at 9am and 1pm. Tickets are available for $10 (children under 10 are free) and will be sold the day of the event at Camp Edgemere. More information is available on the Facebook Page for the Elizabeth Cady Stanton Child Care Center.

  25. Lee Anne
    April 4, 2015 @ 10:44 pm

    This tour is not sponsored by the Historical Society but by Elizabeth Cady Stanton Children’s center, a not for profit day that is housed in the Jackson Bldg – the old nursing school. We are waiting word to see if the tour can be held again this year. If it is it will be May 16th and the cost will be $10.00

  26. Wendy Davis
    April 9, 2015 @ 10:04 am

    I have a group of family members who would love to go on this tour as one of our family members had been in this facility. Please let me know the dates and times

    • Chris
      April 18, 2015 @ 6:27 pm

      Hi Wendy…Walking tours of the grounds and facilities will take place on Saturday, May 16th, 2015 at 9am and 1pm. Tickets are available for $10 (children under 10 are free) and will be sold the day of the event at Camp Edgemere. More information is available on the Facebook Page for the Elizabeth Cady Stanton Child Care Center.

  27. Becky
    April 13, 2015 @ 10:34 am

    Does anyone know if the Tour for 2015 is going to take place and when?

    • Chris
      April 18, 2015 @ 6:28 pm

      Hi Becky…Walking tours of the grounds and facilities will take place on Saturday, May 16th, 2015 at 9am and 1pm. Tickets are available for $10 (children under 10 are free) and will be sold the day of the event at Camp Edgemere. More information is available on the Facebook Page for the Elizabeth Cady Stanton Child Care Center.

  28. Brooke
    April 13, 2015 @ 6:25 pm

    Hi Lee Anne! When you hear if the tour is happening, would you mind e-mailing me? My boyfriend and I and possibly his brother and girlfriend would like to go. My email is Brooke.Kemler@hotmail.com

  29. Scott M. Clark
    April 18, 2015 @ 9:03 am

    My wife and I would also like to know if and when the tour is. I’ve driven through the property quite a few times and would love to see inside.

    • Chris
      April 18, 2015 @ 6:32 pm

      Hi Scott…Walking tours of the grounds and facilities will take place on Saturday, May 16th, 2015 at 9am and 1pm. Tickets are available for $10 (children under 10 are free) and will be sold the day of the event at Camp Edgemere. More information is available on the Facebook Page for the Elizabeth Cady Stanton Child Care Center.

  30. Cindy Mulcahey
    April 19, 2015 @ 1:56 pm

    good evening my name is Cindy and I was just wondering has it always looked this scary ? Was it always run down like the pictures show? How awful.

    • Chris
      April 19, 2015 @ 2:45 pm

      Hey Cindy… A few of the buildings are still in use and while they’re not modern or luxurious, I wouldn’t say they’re too scary. A few of the buildings that have gone unused for decades have probably fallen victim to disrepair and weathering, but considering, they’re in pretty decent shape. Back in the day, Willard was mostly considered QUITE modern and a beautiful grounds, particularly the Director’s home. Most likely, what makes many of these photos seem scary is our imaginations and the things we imagine happening and being done to the residents.

  31. Naomi Jensen
    April 19, 2015 @ 7:30 pm

    Very interesting !

  32. drzmomma
    April 20, 2015 @ 6:25 pm

  33. michelle
    April 20, 2015 @ 9:53 pm

    Hi I was wondering if it was haunted?

    • Chris
      April 20, 2015 @ 9:55 pm

      Hi Michelle…. I suppose it depends on what you believe about spirits and the afterlife. But, there are certainly some people who do believe the grounds have supernatural qualities.

  34. Virginia
    April 21, 2015 @ 10:28 pm

    Hi Chris. Do they only allow people in during the once a year tour?

    • Chris
      April 21, 2015 @ 10:32 pm

      Hi Virginia…. Correct. The only access legally granted to the public is during the tour. The child care center goes to great lengths to get approval from the state for the tours.

  35. Valerie M
    April 22, 2015 @ 7:15 pm

    Hi Chris,
    I would love to relive my childhood memories. My grandfather Dr James Murphy was the director of Willard for 25 years. I am unsure of what the exact years were, but everyone working there would always remind me that he had been there for 25 years .I know that he lived on the property and my parents were married 2/2/1955. I believed that Dr Murphy left around 1964. My mother graduated from the nursing school and worked there until 1972 when we moved to Rochester. She did return to work at the Dick Van Dyke clinic and retired from there.
    I actually delivered newspapers throughout Willard from the bottom of the hill to the top on a bike. It was great to bike down the hill.
    My dad was on the softball league and work the security and the fire dept. I lived the white house on the corner next to the state hospital the first house going into Willard.
    I went to many free movies. The patients were below. The rest were on the balcony.

  36. Laura L.
    April 22, 2015 @ 7:56 pm

  37. Amanda
    April 24, 2015 @ 5:34 pm

    Is the place haunted dose any one know

    • Amanda
      May 15, 2015 @ 2:10 pm

      Hi Amanda,
      I actually attended the aforementioned drug treatment facility in 2012. And for those who believe in that sort of stuff (I didn’t before I was there) it is haunted. I spent 90 days there and can report on several “strange” occurrences that I witnessed and it changed my beliefs forever in more than a few ways. It is a known fact throughout the correctional staff that the Willard grounds are unquestionably haunted.

  38. Maggie
    May 10, 2015 @ 9:48 pm

    We are driving from Rochester NY area, do tours fill fast? Are we guaranteed a “spot” if we arrive before the start of the tour?

    • Chris
      May 10, 2015 @ 9:53 pm

      Hey Maggie…

      Last year we wasted a bit of time trying to figure out where to buy tickets and ended up showing up at 8:59 and we were turned away because it was too late. As I was walking away, the volunteer ran after me and said, “c’mon quick. come in here and pay and we’ll get you into a group!”

      With that being said, I don’t really know if they are capping the attendance or not this year, but I don’t think there are any guarantees. If I were going again, I’d be getting there at 8:30 just to be safe. I suspect that there will be a TON of people there.

  39. Leah
    May 16, 2015 @ 5:26 pm

    Today we visited the facility. However…it was poorly planned. We lost our tour guide and they ran out of maps as well didn’t plan for enough people. Our group did our own tour. Alot of people got turned away because it was sold out fast. I’d like to come next year. Hopefully, the planning committee can plan for 1000+ people and have more tour times. I was slightly disappointed in the inefficiency. We also got yelled at by a lady because a condemned building wasn’t properly locked up. She was being extremely rude.

    • Valerie M
      May 16, 2015 @ 7:25 pm

      Most likely there will not be another one. Some people were going through the tunnels,going into restricted buildings. Yes, they didn’t expect the crowds that they had, but as the day wore on the prison guards had enough and slowly shut down places. Too bad, but many former employees and children of the employees were there. It was great to talk with them.

  40. karen k lewis
    May 16, 2015 @ 8:29 pm

    Yes my grandaughter and I made the attempt to be part of the one o’clock tour group. It was mayhem. We didnt even get near Camp Edgemere, much less the entrance to Willard.
    Traffic was backed up 3 to 5 miles from the entrance road. Police would allow traffic to drive by only. The frustrating thing was we could see hundreds of cars and hundreds of people
    wandering the property. Apparently a lot of people up the re were not nice and stayed to give themselves tours. Information printed from last indicated visitors under 1000. There must have been three times that today. There was no one oclock tour. It was a serious disappointment for a lot of people. If there is a next year, the amateur sponsors are going
    to have to turn it over to a professional crowd control organization with a lot more tour
    guides and professional crowd control officers with plenty experience.

  41. heather
    May 17, 2015 @ 12:40 am

    I was told after today there will be no more tours I was also told people went into buildings and vandalized it I was a little disappointed that we could not go into some of the other buildings but I am just glad I was able to do the tour I actually got some orbs in a picture from Hadley hall and smelled a man’s cologne in elliot hall room 107 did not smell that in any other room I definitely had a great time learning about willard I just hope that in the future the Graves will have names cause to me those poor people have names and are not just a number l

    • brice
      May 23, 2015 @ 8:04 am

      You were having o factory hauluations.to bad this place wasn’t still open u would be a great candidate.the place is haunted for use.I myself have seen a few ghosts there and been touched,touched in many ways.this placed saved my life also

  42. Barb
    May 17, 2015 @ 9:44 am

    We drove 2 hours to get there only to get stuck in a traffic jam 3 miles long, figured all was ok because we were almost a hour early for the 1 oclock tour, got almost there and a State Troop directibg traffic said the tour was over due to a fire. I didn’t believe him for some reason. UNREAL

  43. Ruchika
    May 18, 2015 @ 11:33 pm

    Was this only a one day event or will there be more tours. Does anyone know?

    • Chris
      May 19, 2015 @ 7:21 am

      One day a year.

  44. Mary O'
    June 10, 2015 @ 1:36 pm

    Why is that there are always people who just feel like it’s ok to just, ..TAKE? They are responsible for the outcome of all this. Some of us are saddened by the fact that so many more won’t get to see any of it because of vandalism and the like, ..poor behavior, deplorable, ..it sickens me.

  45. Shannon
    June 15, 2015 @ 8:02 pm

    Beautiful building.

  46. A Look Inside the Former 'New York State Lunatic Asylum at Utica' |
    June 20, 2015 @ 8:51 am

    […] quietly announced a few tours available throughout May and June. Since I’ve now been to the Willard Asylum for the Insane in Ovid and the Richardson-Olmstead Complex in Buffalo, I hopped at the opportunity to get a peek […]

  47. Sandra
    August 16, 2015 @ 1:36 am

    Will there be a tour in 2016?

    • Chris
      August 16, 2015 @ 6:14 am

      Not sure Sandra. Historically, tours haven’t been announced until about a month beforehand.

  48. Tony Godin
    October 18, 2015 @ 9:32 am

    Group homes have been replacing the old Institutions but there will always be a need for a secure facility for those afflicted with extreme mental conditions. Group homes are not an answer for these unfortunate souls and Control Drugs can not solve everything. Even worse and threatening the ability of people who need the use of group homes due to mental problems is our current governors use of these homes to house Forensic individuals (Pedophiles) . They take the place of individuals on waiting lists from families desperate for help.

  49. anastasia hough
    October 28, 2015 @ 12:02 am

    Anything set up for 2016
    -Anastasia

  50. anastasia hough
    October 28, 2015 @ 12:05 am

    of course I did not see Sandra’s question, until now, I would like to be on the informational email alerts for this… Please let me know if there is the way to check up on it.

  51. Lisa
    April 21, 2016 @ 12:32 pm

    Any update on 2016 tours? I’ve tried looking online but am not finding anything for this year. Thank you!

    • Chris
      April 21, 2016 @ 8:53 pm

      Hi Lisa!

      Haven’t heard anything yet–sorry!

  52. Molly
    September 14, 2016 @ 9:40 pm

    Hi! I’m a writer for Atlas Obscura, and I’m currently working on a place page for Willard Psychiatric Center.

    We like to illustrate our write ups with lots of photos, and I was wondering if you would allow us to use some of your photos of Willard. We would gladly credit you in whatever format you prefer. Please let me know!

  53. nadia
    September 11, 2017 @ 6:44 pm

    will there be any tours in 2017?

    • Chris Clemens
      September 11, 2017 @ 7:48 pm

      Hi Nadia.

      Historically, the tours at Willard were always done in May. A couple years ago, the crowd size was far beyond what the organizers were anticipating, and as a result, things didn’t go according to plan. If you Google news about Willard you’ll find some news stories about it. There hasn’t been any discussion of a tour since then that I’m aware of.

  54. Lexi
    September 17, 2017 @ 11:08 pm

    U want to attend a tour..Is there lodging nearby?

    • Chris Clemens
      September 18, 2017 @ 6:56 pm

      Hi Lexi,

      As of right now, I don’t believe there are talks to do another tour. But, to answer your question, the nearest hotels or motels to Ovid are probably a 20-25 minute drive. There may be Airbnb options closer, but I’ve never looked.

  55. Book Roundup: January 2018 | A Fuller Existence
    February 5, 2018 @ 7:27 pm

    […] and they had been photographed and displayed in museums around the country. Also, according to Exploring Upstate up until a few years ago, you could actually go on a tour of Willard. So creepy and yet so cool. […]

  56. Angela
    March 4, 2018 @ 2:27 pm

    I assume they have permanently decided to stop tours? That’s to bad. I would have loved to see inside.

  57. Creepy Finger Lakes, Episode 3: Willard Asylum for the Insane – The Braless Gourmet
    November 7, 2018 @ 12:54 pm

    […] “An Inside Tour of ‘Willard Asylum for the Chronic Insane,” available here. […]

  58. DieselEstate
    December 6, 2018 @ 11:07 am

    I don’t know if this has already been said but frankly, I’m not reading through 95 comments to check. Anyway. It may seem cruel or heartless to many nowadays, in our touchy-feely times but, perhaps the removal of personal belongings at the beginning of an inmate’s life at Willard, was grounded in cold, hard logic. Perhaps it was thought that the personal possessions of the individuals concerned, would be constant reminders of traumas in their lives, prior to their Willard residency. Maybe the removal of personal belongings was an attempt at a truly ‘fresh start’?

  59. The strange tale of Ern(e)st Szameitat | Hospitalstraße 22
    April 11, 2020 @ 4:37 am

    […] A picture of Willard today Source […]

  60. Shelly
    July 2, 2020 @ 7:33 pm

    I also graduated from Willard School of Nursing, 50 years ago. As the Class of 1971 will be having a reunion next year I have been revisiting anything related to Willard.
    I would write more, however, I fear this may be a futile attempt. Several of us live outside NYS, today but I know a tour would be very interesting. As students we had different assignments to a specific patient & I believe the few weeks with them, hopefully, provided a sense that they mattered.

  61. Books Read in January and February – margaretL04
    March 17, 2021 @ 3:54 pm

    […] about asylums. The tension is real! I grew up on Seneca Lake, roughly across and down some from The Willard Asylum for the Chronic Insane, and Willard, as we called it, loomed largely in our young imaginations. I used to terrify myself […]

  62. “BORLEY RECTORY: THE MOST HAUNTED HOUSE IN THE UK” and More Strange True Stories! #WeirdDarkness - Weird Darkness
    October 19, 2022 @ 12:11 am

    […] can also see what happened to the patients who ended their lives at the asylum. The morgue is still largely intact, with the autopsy tables in place next to the drawers where bodies were kept. The crematorium […]