Restricted: admission and statistical registers that are less than 125 years old. Due to the presence of restricted patient information, these records may require review by an archivist and/or redaction (if it is possible) before they are served. If redaction is not possible, the register (or certain parts of it) may be closed. Death records are restricted for 50 years.

Contains a variety of registers used for patient recordkeeping purposes. Early admission records may not actually be admission records, but more accurately described as patient censuses that were conducted periodically. Patients were added to the register alphabetically, with each alphabetical list ordered according to the admission date of the patient beginning with the earliest. These registers were added to over several years when new patients were admitted or when older patients died or were discharged. In some cases the entries are numbered, but it's unclear whether this is a true admission number. The date ranges for these volumes reflect both the range of admission dates and the years for which the particular register was used for entries. Researchers should note that considerable overlap exists between the early admission registers and that long-term patients may have entries in more than one register. Later admission registers are organized chronologically by patient admission number, which loosely correlates to admission date. The later registers do not have indices. One volume of admission histories is also included in this series and contains additional personal information about each patient upon his or her arrival at the hospital.

Also included here are several registers of patients which are divided into three sections: a statistical tally of the number of males and females housed in the hospital for the respective years, lists of individual patient names, addresses, dates admitted and the results of the hospitalizations. These registers also contain a complete diagnostic diary on individual patients which provide the name of the patient, treatment received and the patient's response. The volume dated 1859-1861 also contains a Board report for the year 1887 that includes a narrative discussion of the operation of the hospital,patient care, a statistical breakdown of the number of patients by sex and age, and a list of patients who received clothing.

This series also includes a list of furloughed patients, separate registers of hospital births, deaths, and discharges, cemetery burials, and several consolidated reports of changes in population. Each population report contains detailed information about patient movements in the hospital such as the number of patients admitted, died, discharged, furloughed, escaped, total number of patients, total number of ward attendants, and application statistics. Also included in these reports are handwritten notes pertaining to certain escapees, deaths, and discharges.

Arranged alphabetically by type of register and then chronologically.

Contains loose drawings and plans as well as project files pertaining to buildings and structures at both the downtown and Dunbar locations of Eastern State Hospital.

Restricted: commitment registers that are less than 125 years old. Due to the presence of restricted patient information, these records may require review by an archivist and/or redaction (if it is possible) before they are served. Commitment registers include the date upon which patient applications were received, the name of each patient, the name of the sheriff or police officer reporting the commitment, the place of residence of the patient, and the date of admission, if the patient was admitted. The volumes may also include reasons for rejection, notations concerning escapes, deaths, and whether the patient was picked up from the local jail. Researchers should also note that sporadic early commitment papers can be found in Series IV., Subseries D. Correspondence, Subject Files and Ledgers (Superintendent).

Arranged chronologically.

Contains correspondence and subject files maintained by Eastern State Hospital administrators, directors, and superintendents. The files document the administrative and operational aspects of the hospital, as well as legislation, public health issues, and special programs. The earliest files also contain patient-related correspondence, essays on medical topics, and reports.

This series contains four subseries that are divided according to the office or person responsible for creating and/or maintaining the records. The division between records of the director and records of the superintendent is fluid and dates may overlap.

Restricted: financial registers containing patient names or information that are less than 125 years old. Some records may require review by an archivist and/or redaction (if it is possible) before they are served.

Contains a variety of registers that document the financial history of the hospital. Included are ledgers devoted to particular accounts, such as the building fund, contingent fund and support fund. Also included are check stub books related to the Additions and Improvements Fund and the Auditor of Public Accounts. Other ledgers contain information on contracts awarded, patient personal funds and charges, steward's sales, transportation and amusement. The largest subset of financial registers are the general ledgers and general journals. The general ledgers served as the final accounting of funds received and disbursed. The ledgers provide information on money spent for capital outlay projects, legal expenses, medical supplies, food, amusement, equipment, postage, telephone and telegrams. Ledgers for more recent years include information on grant monies, accounts such as the John D. Rockefeller Jr. Donation Fund and the Chapel Buildings Fund, and appropriations for the Behavior Modification Program. In most cases, each general ledger is accompanied by a journal that features more descriptive information about accounts paid and received. Researchers should not that the dates on the ledgers and journal often overlap for unknown reasons. Several of the later general journals are restricted due to the presence of patient names and Medicaid information.

Arranged alphabetically by the title of the register.

Contains files related to histories written about Eastern State Hospital, the Galt family and other mental health topics. Included is a card catalog of books once held in the Galt book collection, articles about the hospital, written histories and supporting documentation.

Arranged alphabetically according to folder title.

Contains a variety of registers related to the inventorying and issuing of food and other items at the hospital, such as day books, registers of stores issued and received, requisition and invoice registers, and a farm production register.

The day books describe supplies maintained by and issued to particular staff members or units such as the matron, supervisor, chief cook, steward, and drug room or for particular purposes such as housekeeping. Examples of items inventoried include whiskey and wine, various foodstuffs, clothing, toiletries, and tobacco. Handwritten notations made by the matron or supervisor can be found in some of the earlier daybooks.

The registers of stores issued contain lists of particular supplies, food and other items that were issued to various staff or hospital units. These supplies include wagons, utensils, clothing, bedding, personal care items, and food. The registers of stores received account for the receipt of the above items before they were used or distributed to patients and staff.

A register of farm production, as well as registers of requisitions and invoices can also be found in this series. The farm production register contains an inventory of fruits, vegetables and meat raised and harvested by the hospital. The requisition and invoice registers contain additional information about supplies bought by the hospital.

Arranged alphabetically by the title of the register.

Contains the minutes of the Court/Board of Directors and the Executive Committee, as well as minutes of the Board of Physicians and Building Committee. The majority of the volumes contain minutes of the Court/Board of Directors. The history of the Board begins with the Court of Directors which was the original advisory committee that closely supervised the operation of the asylum. The Court of Directors was later renamed the Board of Directors, and its nine appointed members were required to meet on a quarterly basis. In 1903, the Board of Directors was replaced by a three-person group called the Special Board of Directors. There may be some overlapping use of older and newer names, but they describe the same basic administrative body. The first volume of minutes contains a deed for the land on which the original hospital sat, the articles of agreement, and description of the area and original buildings. In some cases, the minute books have overlapping dates, due to the presence of "rough minutes" in addition to the official minutes of Board meetings.

Also related to the Board minutes are the minutes of the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee was composed of a small number of members of the Court of Directors/Board of Directors. The Executive Committee was responsible for reviewing the superintendent's reports, auditing the steward's monthly expense accounts, and overseeing other matters that arose between Board meetings. An index to the Executive Committee minutes exists for the years 1901-1913.

Additionally, this series contains the minutes of the Board of Physicians, which include patient and treatment information, as well as discussion of hospital business and operations. Also included are the minutes of the Building Committee (or Committee on Construction), which include records of money spent on construction projects, buildings, grounds and the general maintenance of the hospital structures. Also included here are several folders of minutes from the Local Building Committee, which was responsible for managing construction projects at Eastern State.

Arranged alphabetically by board or committee and then chronologically within.

Contains two categories of press material: newspaper clippings and news summaries. Some overlap exists between the two groups. The news clippings were collected and maintained by Eastern State Hospital staff and are mainly photocopies from local newspapers of articles about Eastern State Hospital and mental health topics generally. Several folders of prominent articles are labeled by title and arranged at the end of the clippings section. The news summaries are booklets of photocopied articles compiled by the Legislation and Public Relations Office of the Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services for submission to the Secretary of Health and Human Resources. The articles included in the summaries range from general health topics to specific stories about the state hospitals.

Arranged by type of record and then chronologically within.

Contains the newsletter The Eastern Statesman , which was produced by and largely for Eastern State Hospital employees, and to a lesser extent, patients and interested family and community members. The newsletters contain information about hospital policies, activities, and governmental legislation. They also contain photographs of employee activities and events, notations about births, weddings, illnesses, new-hires, retirements, employee service recognitions and other pertinent information. Also included for the years 1956-1957 are copies of the The Literary Statesman which feature stories and poetry, some written by patients. Both The Eastern Statesman and The Literary Statesman were widely distributed outside of the hospital.

Arranged chronologically by date of publication.

Contains papers, transcribed speeches and lectures on a variety of topics such as drug addiction, medical conditions, types of therapy employed at Eastern State Hospital, and the use of certain medications. Many of the papers, speeches and lectures were written and/or given by Eastern State Hospital leaders and employees. Material not attributed to a specific author can be found at the end of the list arranged according to the type of document. These items were not included in Series XV. Publications because they are more informal in nature. Early essays and papers written by Dr. John M. Galt can be found in Series IV., Subseries D. Correspondence, Subject Files and Ledgers (Superintendent).

Arranged alphabetically by the author or speaker's last name.

Restricted: patient records containing patient names or information that are less than 125 years old. Some records may require review by an archivist and/or redaction (if it is possible) before they are served. Transorbital lobotomy case book records (A-Z) are closed in their entirety for 125 years from the date of creation.

This series contains a variety of registers related to patients and medical treatment at the hospital. Included are record books kept by the night watchman and night watch nurse. These volumes document the activities of the nighttime staff and describe the number of visits to each ward, the time and temperature of the ward at the time of the visit, as well as the names of patients and their level of "excitement." Also included are case books that provide medical treatment information, a record of surgical cultures, transorbital lobotomy records and a register of articles belonging to patients which includes a listing of clothing, money, jewelry and other personal effects. This series also contains the art therapy drawings of a patient named Michael Condrey. Researchers interested in admission, statistical and/or patient census information should see Series I. Admission and Statistical Registers.

Arranged alphabetically by the title of the volume or record.

This series is composed of two ledgers of employee records. The earliest ledger includes names, beginning date of employment, rate of wages or salary, and occasionally notations regarding discharge or reassignment. The later ledger contains only names and dates. Also included in this series are records of student nurses and attendants who graduated from the Eastern State Hospital program, including names, dates of graduation, and ceremony programs. For information on early hospital job descriptions, please see Series XVII. Rules, Regulations and Procedures.

Restricted: Photographs that identify patients or depict medical treatments are restricted for 125 years.

Contains both black and white and color photographs that document activities, buildings, events, employees, and patients at Eastern State hospital. The photographs depict various activities such as holiday parties, picnics, and special events such as the circus and horse shows. The photos also show the buildings and grounds at both the downtown and Dunbar locations. The employee photographs are mostly head shots, but some also document the receipt of service awards, as well as groups of food service employees, attendants, Grey Ladies (volunteers), and physicians. The Safety Department photos show the demolition of structures, disaster drills, and other safety-related activities.

Arranged alphabetically by category and then alphabetically by title or description within.

Contains a variety of publications ranging from articles to journals and books. Most of the publications are mental health or hospital-related. Some of the articles were written by Eastern State Hospital employees and several of the periodicals were published by the Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation and the State Hospital Board. The office that created and maintained these publications is unknown, though they may have been held by the Office of the Director or by the staff or patient libraries.

Contains two subseries of reports: annual and miscellaneous. The annual reports were produced by the Auditor of Public Accounts, the Department of Mental Hygiene and Hospitals, Eastern State Hospital, the State Hospital Board, and Western Lunatic Asylum. The annual reports contain administrative, financial and operational information for each entity. The miscellaneous reports come from a variety of sources and document particular aspects of the mental health system in Virginia. Topics include progress reports, civil commitment, community services, and general surveys.

Contains by-laws, rules and regulations for various aspects of Eastern State Hospital's operation including ward conduct and certain accounting procedures. The by-laws pamphlet contains detailed job descriptions for the hospital's main employees, as does the 1841 pamphlet devoted to rules and regulations. For additional information on employees, please see Series XIII. Personnel Records.

Arranged alphabetically by title.

Restricted: in their entirety, photographs featuring patients that are less than 125 years old (no redaction).

Contains scrapbooks created and maintained by an unknown person or office at Eastern State Hospital. Most of the scrapbooks contain only newspaper clippings of articles pertaining to the hospital and pertinent mental health topics. In some cases photographs, event programs and other memorabilia are included in the scrapbooks as well. The scrapbooks are generally in fair condition, though the newspaper is yellowed and brittle. Several scrapbooks were dismantled and put into boxes to prevent further damage. In addition to the general hospital scrapbooks, one scrapbook pertaining to the library and one to the Children's Unit are also available.

Arranged chronologically by date of scrapbook.

Contains a variety of thesis papers, dissertations and projects pertaining to Eastern State Hospital and mental health topics generally. Many of the papers were written using Eastern State and its patients as part of a case study, while others highlight the contribution of Galt family members to the hospital. Other topics include psychopharmacology, schizophrenia, and the admission of children. If the name of the writer's school was available, it was included in the description. Many of the papers were written by students at local universities such as Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, and The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg.

Arranged alphabetically by the author's last name.