Comments on: Mystery Ride in Eastern Pennsylvania

By: Sue

Sue — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 03:31:51 +0000

It’s still up and running. Our residents are getting older, but no horror stories. Some of the residents went to group homes, but some want to stay in the only home they remember. Those than can, work or attend day programming at various sites throughout the facility. Families visit, and we take them out on outings in the community-shopping, out to dinner, ball games, movies, picnics and bowling, to name a few.

By: Chris

Chris — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 03:15:21 +0000

This is all very interesting. Can anyone tell me where to find more information about this place? Does anyone have any information about a fire at the institution in which patients were killed? My father had a brother in this instituion who supposedly died in a fire there. This was before my father was even born.

By: Mike D.

Mike D. — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 01:05:26 +0000

Stories, scary stories?

Looks like a fun ride Tank.

By: current contractor

current contractor — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 22:05:48 +0000

hi
funny you ask. I’ve been doing work there lately.
what you found is a mental campus.that use to hold over 3500 patients.
as they died off,they have not been replacing them.they only have i believe a couple hundred. rumor has it
that when the group gets small enough,and we are done with the renovation,mainly energy related they will be making this whole campus into a prison for special care inmates that are to old or need special treatment.
but yes there still are patients there yet,and as you can guess this place can get very creepy as it gets dark.
and yes, there are alot of stories from the employees, and the contractors about weird stuff in some of those buildings

By: Deanna

Deanna — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 19:25:37 +0000

I worked at Polk in 1967. I don’t remember the name of the building but it was the first one when you entered up the side road. I was young (20) and had purposely gone there for a job because I wanted to work with mentally handicapped. I came from a town near New York state line and eventually worked in group homes in Pa that took in some Polk residents. I saw some pretty horrible things as well as good things while there. Some staff members were mean to the residents and of course some caring and compassionate. We were so understaffed, two staff per 50 women, mostly violent. I think supervisor of mine from the group home eventually went to work at Polk.I would love to know what happened to him. I loved seeing the photos.

By: Anita

Anita — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 01:58:30 +0000

I work at Polk Center now. About 304 individuals still live there full time. Alot of total care, not being able to do anything for themselves. Some are very independent and are able to move about the grounds freely. They work doing different things and get paid accordingly. Some go out into the surrounding communities to work and get paid. ALL residents go out and about doing different things such as shows, shopping and out to eat on a regular basis. They are all very well cared for and the staff that work there genuinely cares for each and every person that lives there. It is an old place and it shows its age. But…we have the most up to date equipment and supplies to care for our people and try to make them as happy as we can.

By: GEOF

GEOF — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 15:20:41 +0000

Interesting pics- I worked there as volunteer while I was at Clarion State (now Clarion U). NO horror stories then (1972-76) ANyone know what is happening there now? I was told all ‘residents’ went to group homes. Was well run opearion when I was there- but hear some pretty grim stories of why some older residents were sent there! Curious what is happening to the place now?

GEOF

By: paul

paul — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 06:40:34 +0000

I’ve worked with former residents who now live in group homes.Some real horror stories out of this place. Some former patients actually said it was OK.A guy I cared for is deaf, autistic, he had a real hard time. His mom hated to take him there when he was 10. She said they wanted to put him in a cage. She wouldn’t allow it. He was in a four point restraint alot lf the time. In the group home, he would ask daily if he would have to go back. He had terrible flashbacks. He got out in 1990 and it took years for him to calm down. I can’t imagine what his life was like there. There is a cemetary to the left of the bldgs., through a cornfield, past a sign that says “keep out”. Sad place, think bodies were creamated. Glad those places are gone but alot of those folks wound up in prisons. What’s better?

By: Nancy Johnson

Nancy Johnson — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 02:11:21 +0000

I’ve just happened across your site. I grew up in Polk, PA. The facility you visited was originally “Polk State School for the Feeble Minded”. It was built in 1897. I lived there during the 1940s and 50s. It was then “Polk State School and Hospital”. My great-grandmother was among the first employees hired to work there. My father was the head gardener, so we lived in a staff house on the grounds. It was a wonderful,vibrant place. It was almost completely self-sustaining. 800 acres of fields, orchards, dairy herd, cattle, chickens and hogs for food. It had it’s own bakery, butcher shop, carpentry shop, etc. When I lived there there were about 3,000 patients. About 1,500 staff. In the early 1970s, patients began to be transferred into group homes or released to live on their own. Nowadays with advanced medical care, relatively few people are institutionalized. I’m not sure what’s being done there now. The photos that you took are wonderful. I hope you don’t mind if I save them for my own photo files. I’m 65 and have lived in Virginia for over 30 years. Those photographs bring back endless, happy memories.

By: mike

mike — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 04:18:54 +0000

it is polk center…i work for the PA conservation corps and we go there to hold education meetings…it used to be a hospital but it is now under the care of PA. the inside of the building doesnt suggest anything creepy, infact there are still permanent and temporary residents which recieve special care but not too many. it is also a facility for small state projects…