East Louisiana State Hospital

Visitors to the Jackson Assembly Antiques Show will have the rare privilege of touring the Center Building at Eastern La. Mental Health
System.The tour will be held in conjunction with the 44th annual Jackson Assembly Antiques Show and Sale. All profits from the event
are immediately returned to the community in preservation projects.

History of East Louisiana State Hospital

East Louisiana State Hospital was founded as the Insane Asylum of Louisiana in 1847. On Nov. 28, 1848 the entire mentally ill
population of Charity Hospital in New Orleans were transported by steamboat up the Mississippi River to Bayou Sara (St. Francisville)
and from there by oxcart to the Asylum in Jackson, Louisiana.
The East and West wings were completed first in 1847 and the Center Building was added in 1852.
Jonathan Fricker has called the Center Building, the largest and most impressive Grecian Temple style building in the state.
The Jackson Assembly, a non-profit, volunteer preservation group is sponsoring the tour to call attention to the need for restoration of
the building. We are also making an effort to have it named as a National Landmark.