Dorothea Dix Hospital was known for almost a century as a lunatic asylum, as seen here in the inset to the 1872 "Bird's Eye View" map of Raleigh.
Dorothea Dix Hospital was known for almost a century as a lunatic asylum, as seen here in the inset to the 1872 "Bird's Eye View" map of Raleigh.


The now-shuttered Raleigh psychiatric facility has a storied history that extends back more than a century-and-a-half.

By Thomas Goldsmith and Rose Hoban

On Sunday, Oct. 16, North Carolina Health News will host Lives on the Hill, an event to spur discussion on what should be included in a memorial to Dorothea Dix Hospital. In order to determine what should be included in a memorial, it’s important to understand some of the history around the facility.

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Thomas Goldsmith worked in daily newspapers for 33 years before joining North Carolina Health News. Goldsmith is a native Tar Heel who attended the UNC-Chapel Hill, and worked at newspapers in Tennessee...

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