Welcome to City on the Hill, a website dedicated to the first public insane asylum in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Founded on April 14, 1845, the hospital was originally known as the Pennsylvania State Lunatic Hospital and Union Asylum for the Insane. Later the name was shortened to just  Pennsylvania State Lunatic Hospital, and eventually it was changed again to Harrisburg State Hospital. The hospital served 12 surrounding counties, which at the time of it's founding, had a population of 926,452 in an area of 8,000 square miles. The facility provided over 150 years of service to Pennsylvania's mentally ill, until January of 2006, when it was closed.
 

Click on the above image to continue

 

DISCLAIMER: This website is dedicated to the Harrisburg State Hospital in Harrisburg, PA. Inside you will find historical and present day information as well as photographs of the hospital. Please be aware that this is not the official website for the Harrisburg State Hospital. This website is intended for historical research and entertainment purposes only. This website and it's creator are not affiliated with the Harrisburg State Hospital or the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services in any way. Opinions and information expressed with in are solely the views of the webmaster and may not share the views of current hospital management.

City on the Hill is best viewed at a monitor resolution of 1024x768 or higher.