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New State Asylum For Idiots, Third Annual Report Of The Trustees

Creator: n/a
Date: February 1, 1854
Source: Steve Taylor Collection

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Sites in obscure suburbs of the city were visited and their prices obtained. Independent of other objections to them, their deficiency in a supply of water, and their being difficult of access and shut out from sight and observation, were deemed insuperable. Attention was then directed to the great thoroughfare between this city and the city of Troy; and it was hoped a position might be obtained, that would meet all the exigencies of the case. Land, less than three miles from the city hall, was offered at $200 per acre, by Mr. Richard H. Pease. It answered to some extent the requirement of conspicuousness, being on the range of hills, west of the Troy turnpike; but a supply of water could be obtained only at a heavy expense; and the distance was such as to encounter the objection already stated, in reference to the carriage of supplies to the institution, and it would also preclude in a great degree the attendance of any pupil at public worship.

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Clarkson F. Crosby, Esq., residing in West Troy, and owning a farm there, about five miles distant from the city hall of Albany, also invited the attention of the trustees to some situations on his farm. These were represented by him as being but a few rods from a station on the Albany Northern Rail Road, and midway between it and the McAdam road. The superintendent of the asylum was requested to visit the premises and report to the executive committee; it not being then convenient for the members of that committee to do so. The superintendent made a full examination of the ground and had an interview with Mr. Crosby. The price asked was $500, per acre, as the actual value of the land, and worth the difference between that sum and the price of Mr. Pease's lot. The superintendent reported, that the ground was not so eligible for our purposes, as that offered by Mr. Pease, that it was low, and wanted the desired elevation; that it was liable to the weighty objection against our present temporary building, of being exposed to the casualties of a rail road, so dangerous to children, and especially such as would be in the asylum that the distance from the source of supplies was too great, and that a large expenditure must be incurred in furnishing water. The committee, who had a personal knowledge of the locality, from having frequently passed it, were so entirely satisfied with the result of the superintendent's observations, that no further effort was made for negotiation with Mr. Crosby.

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It was ascertained that a site could probably be procured of Stephen Clark, Esq., who had purchased a tract of land on the west side of the Troy road, distant less than a quarter of a mile from the residence of Stephen Van Rensselaer, Esq. This was repeatedly examined by the members of the committee and other trustees, and all of its features thoroughly canvassed. They were assisted by Mr. Wollett, an architect of great judgment and taste, and the advice of members of both houses of the Legislature in session here, was solicited. Many of them, particularly those who had evinced the most active interest in the asylum, visited the grounds, and all were more or less acquainted with them. After careful and great deliberation, it was the unanimous opinion of all the trustees, of the superintendent, the architect, and the members of the Legislature who were consulted, that the south part of Mr. Clark's tract met all the requirements of the case, and presented advantages altogether superior to those of any other locality in or about the city of Albany. In front is a space of three hundred feet in width, gently rising above the level of the turnpike, very suitable for a lawn, when a commanding hill commences, and presents a site for a building, that overlooks an extensive range of country and the Hudson River, for miles below and above. The prospect from this point is probably unrivaled in this vicinity. An edifice erected there would be visible at great distances from the north, east and south, and would arrest the attention of all passing up or down the river or on the turnpike, or on the railroads connecting with the city. The great purposes of conspicuousness could be no better attained in any spot. The experience of two years had shown that the vicinity was healthy, and the salubrity of such an elevated site was beyond dispute. Within a short walk from the city, it contained the requisite of being easily and cheaply accessible, and with a building on the hill some six hundred feet from the road, would possess all the desired privacy and all the desired opportunity for observation by the children. One of the main pipes for supplying the city with water, runs directly in front and only a few feet distant from the point where the building would be situated, thus affording an inexhaustible supply of the very best water at a trifling expense. In short, without entering into further details, it was the unanimous and decided conviction of all the trustees and persons before mentioned, that this spot was the only one in or about the city of Albany, adapted to the purposes of the institution. On applying to Mr. Clark, he was found willing but not desirous, to sell the quantity required. It was well known that the land was very valuable; not only from its being all lying north of the city, that could for a long time be sold absolutely; but in consequence of the drainings and other judicious improvements made by Mr. Clark, which had brought the property into notice and demand.

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