Letchworth Village – New York State Custodial Institution for Epileptics and the Intellectually Disabled.
1916 Letchworth Village State Custodial Institution For Feeble-Minded and Epileptics.
Letchworth Village Cemetery Names – Find A Grave.
Legend Tripping in Letchworth Village – AbandonedNYC – Will Ellis.
Letchworth Village
Photograph courtesy of The Museum of disABILITY History
“Letchworth Village was established in 1912 to alleviate overcrowding at the existing state institutions of New York. Because the institution admitted people with developmental disabilities and people with epilepsy, a complex system of classification was established for both living arrangements and the educational training methods. Significant efforts were undertaken to ensure that the institutional atmosphere resembled a calm country village and emphasis was placed on the students’ happiness. Letchworth Village also focused on scientific research and Dr. George A. Jervis received international acclaim for his studies on phenylketonuria (PKU) in the 1930s.”
There is a plaque at the cemetery that has all the names of the patients who are buried there. I do not know if the town or any particular group maintains the cemetery.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE VIDEO They’re Buried Where? by Seth Voorhees
THE BAD NEWS: Thousands Remain Nameless! 6.15.2015.
THE GOOD NEWS: One Man Is Remembered! 6.14.2015.
The Inmates of Willard 1870 to 1900 / A Genealogy Resource 
Is there anyone in Rockland county that is working to preserve the memories of the souls at the Letchworth cemetery or the history of the institution?
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Please contact David Mack-Hardiman at The Museum of disABILITY History in Buffalo, New York. https://inmatesofwillard.com/2013/11/12/a-visit-to-the-museum-of-disability-history-11-11-2013/
Thanks so much!!! -Lin
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I was there last summer and it looked as it someone had mowed the grass around the numbered iron crosses. I hope to go again before summers end.
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They are not iron crosses, they are metal number plates.
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