MenuMedia WingBackMedia TimelineMedia ExhibitMedicine WingBackMedicine Timeline ExhibitMedical Establishment ExhibitPrevention ExhibitCures ExhibitSociety WingBackSociety Timeline ExhibitLaw ExhibitSports ExhibitEugenics ExhibitBreaking the Law?African Americans and the disABILITY ExperienceNew York WingBackNew York State Map ExhibitBack1900-19501851-18991800-18501650-1799RomeBuffaloNewarkNew York State Timeline ExhibitEducation WingBackEducators ExhibitEducation ExhibitAdvocacy WingBackAdvocacy ExhibitKennedy FamilySelf Advocacy Exhibit Virtual Museum > New York Wing > New York State Map Exhibit 1851-1899 Click on any image to explore the virtual gallery. Development of New York State Institutions 1851 - 1899 New York State has a long history of attempting to care for individuals with disabilities. As New York emerged from the colonial era it needed to provide for the mental health needs of its citizens. In the early 1800s, the New York Hospital was the only option for state care for the "insane." In 1824 the legislature enacted a law requiring counties to establish almshouses that would provide the care for a "dependent population" that included "paupers, lunatics and idiots." The State erected asylums for the blind, the deaf and the insane. Individuals with intellectual disabilities were often mixed in with these populations, housed with the poor, in jails or found themselves without any support or services. Science, medicine, government and social thought converged as New York sought a "cure" for the "idiots and imbeciles" and established the first institution for individuals with developmental disabilities in North America. Onondaga County, New York 1854: cornerstone for the Idiot Asylum is laid at Syracuse, Onondaga County, New York August 10th 1855: First pupils arrive at the Idiot Asylum, August 10th. Randall's Island is Constructed 1860: Idiot Asylum at Randall's Island is constructed. An Idiot school is opened there in 1866. New York County, Manhattan Borough. Newark 1878 The New York State Asylum for Feeble-minded women of Childbearing Age is opened in Newark, New York. Wayne County The House of Refuge for Women at Hudson 1887: The House of Refuge for Women at Hudson, NY opens , it will be an institution for women aged 15 to 30 years of age Syracuse 1891: Syracuse changes its name to the New York State Institution for Feeble Minded Children Oneida Custodial Asylum 1893 The Oneida Custodial Asylum opened in Rome New York, Oneida County. One Year later it is known as the State Custodial Asylum for Unteachable Idiots. Craig Colony 1894 Dr. William P. Spratling was appointed the first superintendent of Craig Colony Patients arrive at Craig Colony 1896 The first Patients arrive at Craig Colony for Epileptics in Sonyea, New York, Livingston County Asylum for Idiots in Albany 1851 Hervey B. Wilbur opens the Asylum for Idiots in Albany, an experimental school for the treatment training and cure of New York's' idiotic population, at the request of the New York State