Searcy Hospital

Searcy Hospital (also known as the Mount Vernon Hospital) opened in Mount Vernon, Alabama in 1900.

Construction
Searcy Hospital was built on the site of the old Mount Vernon Arsenal in 1900. It was constructed to take care of the overcrowding at Bryce Hospital, which was located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

Operation
Opening in 1902 as the Mount Vernon Hospital, the asylum helped ease Bryce Hospital's overcrowding. In 1919, the hospital was renamed Searcy Hospital in honor of the hospital's first superintendent, Dr. J.T. Searcy. Unlike the other asylum, it only treated African-Americans up until 1969 (which was changed due to the Civil Rights Act of 1964). The hospital contained 400 extended-care beds and 124 intermediate-care beds for patients with severe illness in 2010.

Downfall
On February 15th, 2012, the Alabama Department of Mental Health announced that it was going to close Searcy and all but two of its state-run mental hospitals. It is expected to fully close by September, 2013.

Hauntings
The hospital is believed to be haunted by the mentally ill patients of Searcy Hospital who died there.

Trivia

 * Searcy Hospital is closely connected to Bryce Hospital.