north princeton developmental center

Tales of institutionalization where an Epileptics' 'Village' stood

By Angela Starita

February 25, 2001 - New York Times

At the turn of the last century, the state of New Jersey decided to establish an institution designed for people with epilepsy, who at the time were placed in mental asylums. They chose Maplewood Farmse, a 187-acre plot in Montgomery Township with a 20-room mansion that eventually became the superintendent's home. The grounds, which grew to more than 1,000 acres with dozens of farm animals, was called the State Village for Epileptics. The house, ramshackle and ghostly, still stands, though it is to be demolished. The New Jersey Developmental Disabilities Council and the Epilepsy Foundation of New Jersey would like to renovate it and create a research center about the history of mental institutions in the United States. Norman Reim, communications director of the New Jersey Developmental Disabilities Council, spoke recently about the State Village for Epileptics.

Q. Who owns the Maplewood house and land now?

A. The state of New Jersey. The whole complex is now a couple of hundred acres. The Maplewood house was the original structure and in 1898 it first housed about eight people with epilepsy. In 1899, it became the State Village for Epileptics. The village became the New Jersey Neuropsychiatric Institute, a research center for the treatment of epilepsy, mental illness, drug addiction and alcoholism, in 1952. Then in 1975 it became the North Princeton Developmental Center, which closed in 1998.

Q. What would you like to do with the house?

A. The vision is to have a place where students and other interested individuals can come and learn about institutional life and its place in the evolution of people with disabilities' integration in our society. As the Princeton Developmental Center was planning to close, the Epilepsy Foundation of New Jersey and a group of self-advocates who have disabilities themselves talked about having some sort of memorial or way to remember the people who lived in institutions throughout the country, especially in New Jersey. They thought about taking the Maplewood house, renovating it, and creating a museum that would track the history of institutional life and talk about the people who lived there.

Q. How many people did the village originally serve?

A. It was originally built for 2,000, but never held that many people. It had 1,600 in the 1940's and 50's. The village became a farming community, worked by residents, which produced thousands of pounds of pork and chicken during World War II. That was a significant contribution to the war effort, one not immediately recognized by the public. A learning center would be able to promote that kind of information.

Q. What other information would be available at such a center?

A. There's a very long and difficult history for people with disabilities. The evolution of society's thinking about people with disabilities has been remarkable. During the 1500's, 1600's and 1700's people with psychological and physical disabilities were thrown into prison, got no care, were locked away. In the 1800's, some became part of freak shows and side shows. As inappropriate as we may think institutional care is now, it was all part of an effort in the mid-1800's to get people away from being hurt and taken advantage of. The idea was to put them in a safe setting and provide therapy, try to do things that caretakers thought were good. That philosophy, of course, cut both ways. By sending people with disabilities away, it was out of sight and out of mind. All of these aspects of institutional life could be explored.

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