Lin Stuhler’s Willard Cemetery Project
Central stairway, Chapin House, Willard Asylum
There are a lot of great and interesting people working on New York State asylum issues. I have been following Lin Stuhler’s work on the Willard cemetery for a while, but only had the chance to meet her a few months ago. We keep in touch, and she just emailed me with a link to her recent blog post about the recent open house, and the bill she has been pushing in the state legislature to name the people buried at the graveyard. There is also a link to a really great video that was made by her local cable company. It is an interesting post and there is some nice video footage of some of the buildings and the cemetery. She has a real passion for this issue and should be commended for all the hard work she has done in the name of Willard patients.
Jon Crispin's Notebook 
Thank you, Jon!
Hi..I too have been following the articles and posts too along with yours. It is a very interesting and heartfilled project. It brings back the “dignity” to those that have been forgotten. Thank you for the link. I will certainly check it out. I do enjoy your posts and the photos are really beautiful and interesting. I don’t respond to all the posts, but I do look and read what you post! Thank you again for all the work you put into the Willard and other projects. I found the suitcases so unique.
That is a great photo. Imagine the stories those walls have witnessed. I follow Lin’s blog and the work she is doing is incredible!
I too am very interested and have been researching the forgotten graves of over 5,000 people. I visited the site in 2012 only to find an overgrown field. My husband was in Willard in 1975 for a year. During that time I visited everyday and got to know many of the inmates, some were very old at the time. I am in the process of writing a book about my one year experience with Willard and what went on there, which was horrifying even for such a “modern” time. Any updates on the who these people are and how to find out their fate interest me. I was only 21 when my husband was admitted, but the horror of it all has lingered with me and has in the past several years resurfaced to the point of wanting to know more about the lives and fate of the 5,700+ people who lived and died at Willard State.
Check out the website http://www.willardcemeterymemorialproject.com. We have two more work days at the cemetery where we are digging around the numbers to reveal them. Even though this is not the end goal of our project it does give the sense that someone real and a person to be remembered is buried there.
Colleen Kelly Spellecy
Fabulous, what a web site it is! This weblog gives valuable data to us, keep it up.
Reblogged this on The Inmates of Willard 1870 to 1900 / A Genealogy Resource and commented:
Thanks, Jon!