Town undecided on what to do with closed psych hospital

The Fairfield State Hospital in Connecticut was established in 1933, and was closed in 1995. Facilities included a large farm, a sewage treatment plant and a dozen major buildings as well as staff housing. In 1998, Fairfield Hills consisted of 100 buildings on a 185-acre campus. Fairfield Hills was one of the largest mental health facilities in the state until it closed its door in 1995. At its peak it housed over 4,000 patients. The main campus consists mostly of large 2-3 story buildings ranging in size from 15,000-200,000 square feet. There are alot other smaller buildings on the edge of the campus that had served as living quarters for staff. Architecturally, the buildings of the complex are more interesting than many other institutional buildings built during the 1930s.

The Newtown, Connecticut community currently has plans underway to find new uses for the complex. As seen in this report, the town is still discussing what to do with the facility, having rejected the most recent master plan from the Planning and Zonning Commision. More details here

Fairfield Hills had a reputation for problems between administrators and employees as well as other unpleasant issues such as patient escapes, mistreatment of patients, and mysterious deaths.

There are an unusual number of websites dedicated to the former facility.