For records from the Traverse City Psychiatric Hospital contact the STATE
ARCHIVES OF MICHIGAN Michigan Historical Center P. O. Box 30740 717 West
Allegan Lansing, Michigan 48909-8240 . See additional info below. Hope this
is helpful. Barbara
MENTAL HEALTH RECORDS For most of its history, Michigan has maintained
institutions for the care and treatment of the mentally ill. These
facilities, and their opening dates, are as follows: Michigan Asylum for the
Insane at Kalamazoo (1859), Eastern Michigan Asylum at Pontiac (1878),
Northern Michigan Asylum at Traverse City (1885), Michigan Asylum for Insane
Criminals at Ionia (1885), Upper Peninsula Asylum for the Insane at Newberry
(1895), the Michigan Farm Colony for Epileptics at Caro (1914), and the
Ypsilanti State Hospital (1931). Because the records created by these
institutions often relate to specific individuals, they are confidential to
protect the right of privacy. Anyone wishing to view these materials can
petition for access to them by completing a special form designed for this
purpose that is available at the reference desk or by mail. Permission to
see restricted papers, if granted, will usually be given within three (3)
weeks of the receipt of the request. The kinds of mental health records that
are most often called for are listed below.
TRAVERSE CITY (Also known as Northern Michigan Asylum) RG 76-78 Series 18.
Patient record office files, 1885-1919. Apparently compiled by ward
attendants, these records show notes on patient admissions and discharges,
illnesses and deaths, visitors, and recreational activities. These data are
fragmentary and unindexed. Arranged chronologically. RG 89-151 Series 3.
Records relating to patients, 1885-1908. General Index, plus admission and
discharge registers. Arranged alphabetically and numerically.