— The old Salem County Insane Asylum has been named to the 2012 list of the 10 Most Endangered Historic Places in New Jersey.
The sites were unveiled Wednesday by
as part of its program “to spotlight irreplaceable historic, architectural, cultural and archeological resources in New Jersey that are in imminent danger of being lost,” according to the organization.
“Several challenges face properties on this year’s endangered sites list, including neglect and deferred maintenance, vandalism, environmental hazards and ownership challenges,” said David H. Knights, Preservation New Jersey president.
The asylum building is located in the old Lakeview Complex on Route 45 in Mannington.
Long vacant and boarded up, the building stood next to the Salem County Almshouse, an early 19th century structure which was razed by the county in April 2007 after a back wall collapsed and the large building was deemed unsafe.
The asylum is the only known surviving first-generation county insane asylum in New Jersey, according to Preservation New Jersey.
It was listed on the New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places in 2008.
“I think it’s extremely important to save the asylum because it’s such a rare property type,” said Janet Sheridan, an architectural historian from Salem who nominated the building for inclusion on the endangered list.
It was through Sheridan’s research that the building earned a place on the state and national historic registers.
The asylum was built in 1870. The asylum was designed as a three-story, three-bay-wide Italianate cube. It is a brick building with a square, wood belvedere centered at its roof. It was designed to complement the former adjacent almshouse in height, proportion, and fenestration, but was much smaller, according to Sheridan’s research.
The asylum retains remarkable integrity, including its original center-hall plan; each floor features two large front rooms, a center hall, a small rear room, and a rear stair hall. This “three-story cottage” plan was promoted at the time as an alternative idea for treating the insane.
It served its original purpose as an asylum until 1925 when those cared for there were moved to state-run institutions. From then until 1951, the building was used in connection with the neighboring almshouse to house the poor.
In 1951, the almshouse and insane asylum were converted into a certified county nursing home. From 1971 when the county relocated the nursing home, until 1995, the asylum building was used for county and non-profit organization offices until deteriorating conditions forced them to move.
Since that time the building has remained empty.
In the 1800s New Jersey and Wisconsin were the only two states where counties built their own facilities to care for the mentally ill, Sheridan said. The county asylum is the last such building in this state.
Sheridan said one of the keys to preserving the building would be to determine a use for it.
“The building doesn’t have a use. That’s a big problem,” Sheridan said. “The freeholders would have to take the lead in starting some type of plan for its preservation. It needs a use and it needs a plan.
Sheridan said the county has made an effort to secure the asylum building, repairing the roof after storms last year.
Salem County officials say they recognize the importance of the building.
“We acknowledge the Preservation New Jersey recognition of the historical significance of this structure,” said Earl Gage, clerk of the Salem County freeholder board. “Even though we are in economically-challenging times, the county will do what we can with limited resources in order to preserve the integrity of the structure.”
The list of the 10 Most Endangered Historic Places is generated from nominations by the public.
“On this year’s list, the effects of an extraordinarily challenging economy remain particularly evident — a dearth of funds, limited viable rehabilitation plans and taxed municipal and state budgets are just a few of the difficult issues with which not only those sites on this year’s list, but historic properties throughout New Jersey, are currently grappling,” Knights said.
In addition to the Salem County Insane Asylum, these sites were named to the endangered places list.
• Franklin Inn-Van Liew Homestead, an 18th century house converted into an inn in the 19th century, currently vacant in Franklin Township, Somerset County.
• The 1894 Hope Fire Company/American Legion Post 254 in Mays Landing, Atlantic County.
• The 19th century Howell House on Lafayette Street, Cape May, Cape May County.
• The 1914 Jersey City Terminal Train Shed, Central Railroad of New Jersey, Jersey City, Hudson County.
• The Kastner Mansion/Pride of Newark Elks Lodge No. 93, a Victorian era “beer baron” mansion, Newark, Essex County .
• Lime kilns of New Jersey. Found in multiple municipalities and counties, most prevalent in northwest New Jersey, a common extant remnant of the lime industry in northern New Jersey during the 19th and 20th centuries.
• Mount Peace Cemetery, an African-American cemetery threatened by public disinterest, Lawnside, Camden County.
• The Tichenor-Gregory-Goddel-Wallisch Farmstead, a farmstead of 19th and 20th buildings, located on one of the original West Milford land tracts, West Milford Township, Passaic County.
• The Wheatsworth Mill and Gingerbread Castle, a mill with origins in the 19th century and adjacent 20th century amusement park designed by celebrated architect Joseph Urban, Hamburg, Sussex County.
They included the
Middle School and the village of Marshalltown in Mannington Township, a free-black settlement.
More information on Preservation New Jersey and the endangered sites can be found at
Contact Bill Gallo Jr. at 856-935-1500 Ext. 432 or via email at firstname.lastname@example.org