Through the Gates of Eloise (Eloise Hospital, formerly known as the Wayne County Poorhouse and Asylum)

Welcome to Eloise Hospital (formerly known as the Wayne County Poorhouse and Asylum) on Michigan Avenue in Westland, Michigan. Eloise is said to be one of the most haunted locations in southeastern Michigan.

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Known today as the Kay Beard building, the first two floors of Eloise’s former main administrative structure are presently being used for Wayne County offices. The building also contains a small museum dedicated to the asylum, which is open to the public.

In 1839, Wayne County, Michigan purchased the Black Horse Tavern, a stagecoach stop located here on the Chicago Road, for use as a poorhouse. Early on, the Wayne County Poorhouse accepted not only the county’s indigent, but the infirm and mentally ill as well. The mentally ill were kept in chains and housed on the upper floor of a farm building used to keep pigs.

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A stone well on the grounds is a haunting reminder of the many wishes and prayers that were undoubtedly whispered throughout Eloise’s long and sometimes painful history.

During the mid to late nineteenth century, the Wayne County Poorhouse and Asylum became one of the largest public health-care facilities in the United States. The most advanced medical and psychiatric treatments were used there.

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Approaching the turn of the last century, the number of patients grew and new buildings were constructed to meet the demand. In 1894, a post office opened on the grounds with the name Eloise, Michigan after Eloise Dickerson Davock, the only child of Freeman B. Dickerson, the Postmaster of Detroit and President of the Governing Board of the Wayne County Poorhouse. Eloise was a name that became synonymous with what developed into a 902-acre, 75-building complex.

During the early twentieth century, Eloise physicians pioneered the use of X-rays for diagnostic purposes, radium for the treatment of cancer, and “open air” treatment for tuberculosis. Psychiatric patients underwent electroshock and insulin shock therapy as well as music, recreational, and television therapy. As decades passed, many of the unfortunates who passed through the Eloise Asylum’s gates would never leave.

By the late 1920s, Eloise’s population had peaked at 10,000 patients and 2,000 staff. A city in itself, Eloise had its own farm, cannery, bakery, cemetery, employee housing, police and fire departments, a powerhouse, trolley and train stations, and 16 kitchens that served 30,000 meals daily. Many of the buildings were connected by a complex system of underground tunnels, which still exist today.

In 1945, Eloise was renamed Wayne County General Hospital and Infirmary. The new name was intended to reflect the modern “scientific” approaches to medical care that had been instituted at the facility. Wayne County General quickly came to be considered one of the best hospitals in the nation and it played a major part in metro Detroit’s health network. It was the only acute-care medical and surgical hospital between Detroit and Ypsilanti. Despite the name change, most locals continued to refer to the facility as Eloise Hospital. It was during this time that my father was born at Eloise, in the fall of 1945.

Psychiatric care ended at Eloise Hospital in 1979 and the general hospital closed in 1984. Most of the complex’s 75 buildings were razed by the mid-1980s. More than 7,100 patients are buried in the Eloise cemetery, their graves marked only by numbered blocks.

All that remains of the original 75 buildings are the old fire station, the powerhouse, the bakery and commissary buildings, and the main infirmary. The infirmary and the small handful of decaying outbuildings remain at their original location on the north side of Michigan Avenue between Henry Ruff and Merriman Roads in present day Westland, Michigan.  The main infirmary is presently being used as temporary housing for homeless families. Its future is unknown. UPDATE MARCH 30, 2016: The bakery has burned down in an arson fire.

An interesting bit of trivia is that a 1946 movie from the UK,  “Genius in an Asylum”, was filmed in part at Eloise and includes a brief clip of then Eloise Superintendent Thomas K. Gruber explaining the asylum’s use of music therapy.

UPDATE JUNE 2, 2014:  A new Hollywood horror film titled “Eloise” starring Eliza Dushku is currently in production.  The movie, which will be filmed in part on location, is set in modern day and tells the story of Jacob Martin and his three friends, who break into the abandoned institution in hopes of finding a death certificate to prove an inheritance.  While inside the asylum, the film shows the group “discovering that the institution houses a horrifying history as well as the truth about their own tragic pasts.”  I just happened to be in the Eloise area today, conducting some business at the Wayne County Clerk’s satellite office there, and got caught in traffic, which was snarled up by the movie’s production crews.  More on this to come, I am sure!

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The remains of the Eloise powerhouse, which was until recently crowned by the “ELOISE” smokestack, a well-known landmark to Wayne County residents.

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Another view of the remains of the Eloise powerhouse, circa 1924.

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The fire station, circa 1896, is the oldest Eloise structure still standing,

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The fire station, circa 1896, is the oldest Eloise structure still standing,

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The old Eloise bakery. UPDATE MARCH 30, 2016: The bakery has burned down in an arson fire.

Sources: Historical markers on site, AsylumProjects.org:”Eloise Asylum”, MLive: “‘Eloise’ thriller with Eliza Dushku puts focus on Metro Detroit’s psychiatric hospital past”

103 Responses to “Through the Gates of Eloise (Eloise Hospital, formerly known as the Wayne County Poorhouse and Asylum)

  • Where is the cemetery located today?

  • I currently live in the homeless shelter and wanted to know what our building was used for. I got spooked last night before my three year old said there was a lady outside the window and he jumped under the covers, I just thought that was real weird and decided to look it up and see if it was haunted because I heard the patients use to get tortured. Does anyone have any info.

  • I was at the cemetery last year .. the stones are about a foot deep .. I’ll be back this year to investigate it further .. nothing but a field honestly.

  • I remember as a child always driving by Eloise in our family car. There was always a lady that sat on the wooden swing that was at the very corner of MI Ave and Merriman. She would hold up her dolls for people to see that drove by. Something I never forgot. I also remember seeing the gardens and people working them. It’s too bad so much was knocked down. I sure hope they don’t bother the Well, it is something that should always be there. I wonder if it was actually used for water or just for looks?

    • Thank you for sharing your poignant memories of the lady on the swing and the people in the garden. I, too, wish that more of the structures would have been preserved. I have very few memories of them; mostly I remember seeing the smokestack each time we passed by. The well was still there the last time I walked the grounds in 2010. There is a photo of it in this blog post. Thanks again!

    • I have the same memories driving by in the family car as we lived in the area. It is a shame more couldn’t have been saved and put to new use instead of the eye sore that strip mall that’s there now is.

  • Way cool! Some extremely valid points! I appreciate you penning this post plus the rest of the site is very good.

  • Saved as a favorite, I like your blog!

  • Patients were not tortured but treated rather well. And I remember being little and seeing the lady with the dolls as well as other patients mulling around behind the fence. I also always asked if I could go visit them as they looked sad. My mom would always say no. I didn’t understand why until many years later. Eloise was one of the first if not the first hospital to use x-rays for diagnosis performed by Dr. Albarran. Patients came from Detroit and other communities to have x-rays done. It also housed the first kidney dialysis unit in the State of Michigan and pioneered in the field of Music Therapy.

    • I was a patient there as a child. Patients were treated like animals. My first day there, I heard screaming all day and a patient begging to be allowed to use the bathroom. Lying in their own feces while the nurses in their clean white uniforms sat behind their nurse station telling patients to shut up. I became one of those screaming patients, begging to be untied at age nine, laying in my own feces all day. Until a nurse came in to change you, you regretted you screamed.

    • “Patients were not tortured but treated rather well.” My Dad watched a patient, grabbed by the wrists and ankles by two interns, swung a couple times, and thrown head-first into the wall. He laid unmoving the rest of the night and the next day, until my father was transferred to another hospital. Treated well? Did I mention that they refused to treat my father because he was too badly injured to survive? Funny thing, after being treated at another hospital, he lived more than 50 years before dying of old age.

  • I had read the book Annie’s ghost and I instantly became quite curious about Eloise. Your article is very interesting. Thank you.

  • I remember people walking around outside close to the iron fence in the 60’s 70’s.My grandpa’s uncle lived there and is buried there. My Uncles father retired from there in the 60’s

  • My sister was born in the “new part of Eloise”/Wayne County Gen in 1962 the new part seemed have great promise because it was new and “modern” as opposed to the older part that was always scary to me when I was a child, and every now and then we would hear of someone “breaking out” which really scared me, as for the grounds on Michigan Av I thought they were always well kept, a close family friend worked there for many years and his wife would always take us w/her to pick him up from work and she enjoyed scaring us by showing us where the “Morgue” was.It is so sad all of the old buildings weren’t preserved, it has such rich history…

    • I was born in Eloise in 1969.

      • I was born in Eloise in 1969. Hope Turner

      • I was too, in 1969

        • I was born at Wayne County General in 1974! I saw the inside once when I was about 3 years old and I have such vague slices of it left now. LOL It is awful how it didn’t last long enough with all they had started. I managed to get the BEST Pediatric doctor I NEVER forget about till this day, Dr. Kay! Back then, some kids got Encephalitis and I was one of them. Not much was known about it and Dr. Kay was the best one for that illness and treating me! My husband said he had Dr. Kay also, how ironic! May Dr. Kay Rest in Peace, he was so memorable! I believe his kids ended up practicing in the medical field and I’d love to tell them what a amazing doctor their father was, especially in Peds!

  • My name is Ruby McElroy I was born on November 20, 1974 at (as it states on my birth certificate) Child’s Birthplace: Eloise, Wayne County. Is there anyway you can find out exactly where I was born. I don’t have email just Facebook. I live in Adrian, Michigan currently.

    • Westland, Michigan. Located on Michigan Ave. between Henry Ruff and Merriman.

    • If you were born at Eloise in 1974 it would have to be at the Wayne County General Hospital which was located on the grounds.

    • The Wayne County General Hospital, also known as the blue building, had an OB unit and that’s where you were born. I think it was on the third floor. I worked at the main hospital in the 70s in ICU, which was on the 2nd floor.

      • I was also born in Eloise in 1967. Was the OB unit for all pregnant women, or for those suffering from mental health or unwed mothers. Is the blue building still standing?

        • Hi Lucy my name Steve. I was born in Eloise February 5, 1967 and was also put up for adoption through Lutheran Social Service. I was adopted February 1, 1968. I also have only found out not identifying information find my biological parents. If you ever need to test how I can find out more it would be greatly appreciated! And good luck in your search, your friend Steve.

        • The Wayne County General Hospital was the County Hospital. They accepted Medicaid when it first came out. It was a general hospital, not for the mentally ill. I remember going there to the clinics as a child for medical care.

        • The Wayne County General Hospital is no longer standing as most of the city of Eloise. My Grandmother died at that hospital in 1980. I am not sure how much longer it stood, but it is no longer standing. The city of Eloise is now Westland, Michigan.

      • I was born there Feb 25, 1970 and was put up for adoption. I only know my birth mother was of Hungarian descent and my name given from her was Theresa and called me Baby Girl at birth.

      • Wayne County General Hospital was closed in 1984 per the Historic Site Sign.

    • You would have been born in the sky blue colored modern building know as Wayne County General Hospital.

    • I was also born there. I was put up for adoption through the protestant youth organization (Christian Family Services). I was born on January 23rd, 1973. Trying to find my biological parents. I had a body cast a birth from having a dislocated hip. I don’t have much to go on other than that.

      • Shawn – I also was born there and put up for adoption in 1967 and had absolutely no information, so I understand your frustration. But this year, I have found the identity of my birth father and on the trail of the mother by using 23andme. Good luck in your search.

      • I was born 1984 also was in a body cast with dislocated hips.

        • I was a student enrolled in the X-ray Technology program from Nov 1967 to Nov 1970. I resided in a building called the Terrace Annex, a three story residence. It faced Michigan Ave. and was located about a half block west of the main Michigan Ave. entrance. We worked mainly at Wayne Co. Gen. Hosp. and also took survey x-rays in Bldg C, for TB on the permanent residents known as POGIES (poor old guys in Eloise). The best x-ray program. Great experience in an awesome medical facility.

          • I was trained as a histology technician at Wayne County General Hospital in 1965 through 66. I lived in the Terrace. We had a wonderful time there as all kinds of medical students having parties and laying on the roof sunning. It’s so nice to hear from someone else who also lived in the Terrace. I also got wonderful training and saw many things in the tissue lab that are outdated today such as self-induced abortions, where we received the fetus intact. Also the morgue with John Does and the tunnel to the mental hospital where the POGIES lived.

    • It would be Wayne County General Hospital.

    • Hi Ruby, I was born there in 1974 also!!! They referred my mom to Dr. Kay in Westland and he was a great Pediatric doctor at that clinic at Merriman Road and the road the mall is on. I haven’t been down there in many years. I’m starting to forget some roads now but I feel lost not knowing more or able to see more on that hospital I was born in. It’s like it vanished and never existed. I’d like to know more about the Labor and delivery unit and the doctors that worked there. My birth certificate only says Wayne County General but then I discovered it’s a part of the old Eloise.

  • As I write this, seems one of the remaining buildings is burning. Seems it might be the old bakery. I live on Livonia not that far from Eloise and worked there as a nurse in the general hospital from around 1970 until its change to Southwest General. Took my psychiatric training there in 1968 when it was still its own city with a fire department and its own zip code — Eloise, Michigan.

    • My mom was born there on March 2, 1970.

    • When did you work at WCGH? Did you work in the OB unit? I was born there in 1973 and was put up for adoption. Looking to find my biological parents.

  • Interesting thread. I toured some of the facility in the 1962-63 time frame in association with a psychology class (either at Dearborn HS or Henry Ford CC – where ironically the instructor was the same). Prior to that I remember wondering what it was about. Afterward, good to know that it existed, but convinced that the kind of work involved was not for me.

  • I have a relative (my grandfather) that, according to one source, appears to be buried in the cemetery. Is there any database where one can research the cause of death of a patient at Eloise? He passed away in 1935.

  • It was the fire station that burned down in March 2016. You have beautiful pictures of it before it was caught or set on fire (they believe).

  • My Grandfather worked there as a barber. Wished I knew the years. His name was Doris Foley. The years may be 1965-? His wife also worked there as a nurse. Mary Foley. If anyone knows of my relatives..i would love to hear your stories. Email me at loribid77@comcast.net. I have enjoyed reading all these posts.

  • For those curious about the cemetery here is a link for some of the graves and names that have been documented.

    https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=454&CScn=Eloise&CScntry=4&CSst=24&CScnty=1308&

  • Curious, in 1968 was Eloise a mainstream hospital for the area, or primarily serving the community for the mentally ill?

    • My daughter was born there in 1967 and I was hospitalized there for bleeding (kidney) and the hospital was just a regular ‘modern’ type that treated everything. Seemed pretty mainstream to me though it did accept those unable to pay.

    • Eloise was for the poor and mentally ill. Wayne County General Hospital was on the back side going away from Michigan Avenue and going down Merriman. Everyone went to the hospital in the city. It was modern, my sister worked there. It was on their property and I believe some doctors also worked over in Eloise. Eloise was behind tall iron fences. I remember people walking outside in white gowns and white socks and yes, an old lady with dolls. I lived across the street on the other side of Merriman on the dirt streets that hook into Michigan Avenue.

    • It was a county hospital for everyone, psych patients and the poor. I trained in the lab there in 1965-66 as a Histo Technician.

  • My mother was an inpatient there for psychiatric issues in 1960. Her name was Lois Sheldon. She was thirty. I wondered if there was anyone there that remembers her? She had me five years after in 1965 & died when I was sixteen.

  • I think if we treated our less fortunate friends of society with a state of the art facility and humanitarian a spirit. Redeveloped this property to house the homeless and mentally ill. Make an example for the world to see we could change humanity for the better.

    • Well most of the Eloise Compound is where the Kroger’s, auto parts and video store are now standing. In fact, the place where the woman would swing and show off her dolls is where the BP price sign is now. I’m 65 and I remember the lady with the dolls too. All my 3 children were born at Wayne County General Hospital which was less than 30 years old when it was torn down. It was a time when there were “payless” paydays if you worked for Wayne County. The county ran out of money. It could not afford to keep it open. It cost half the budget to tear it down.

  • I grew up in nearby Garden City in the early fifties. This whole area was full of farms, fields, and wooded areas. We were all taught, adults and children, that if you were outdoors and heard their siren to go inside and stay behind locked doors until the all clear second siren sounded.. The siren meant that one of the mentally ill patients escaped and could be a threat.. It was really creepy and scary to hear that siren.

  • My Great Grandmother was a patient at Eloise, she also died there in 1961, she is buried at Mt. Carmel cemetery in Wyandotte. Whom would I contact about obtaining copies of her records?

  • I am looking for information about my Grand Uncle Marvin Hendershot who was at Eloise. I am not sure of the dates that he was there. Nor why or what he did there. He passed away in 1942. Any help would be appreciated thank you.

  • My grandfather was a patient at Eloise (Wayne County General Hospital) probably around 1930 until around late 1970’s or early 1980’s. My mother never had contact with him, but someone let her know that he had died. He went to live with a sister and that’s where he died. His name is Russell J. Martin. I would like to find out when he passed away and where he is buried. Would anyone know how I could get any information regarding his stay at Eloise and after?

  • Are there tours for this place like in Alcatraz in Cali? I’m so into this stuff, learning history AND spooky haunted tours. I love seeing these things up close and seriously feel privileged to be in one looking around. Even if it’s just a tour. This has me so excited to learn more!!

  • I was born there May 8, 1967 and was adopted the following January through Catholic Social Services. How would I go about getting any info on that? All I know is my natural mom was 16 when she had me.

    • I was born there on May 30, 1967. We could have almost been crib mates! I would also like to get any information possible. I was adopted through Lutheran Services.

  • As a 6 year old, I was treated at the hospital for putting my hand through the blades of an electric mixer. I can remember driving under the big arched gates. What I remember is that, at that time, they did not separate emergency psychiatric from emergency physical. I was in a room for several hours with a woman strapped down to a table. The woman’s daughter and my mother stood between us trying to shield me from seeing the woman. I remember being told that I would not use my fingers again, but I type 85 words a minutes so I guess they were wrong.

  • I worked at WCGH from 1971 to 1984 when it was sold. I saw miracles performed that saved many people. The people who worked there were dedicated and caring. I still remember a patient named Robert whom the wonderful staff cared for to his end. His body just gave out.

    A true loss to the people of Wayne County when it closed.

    • I was born at Wayne County back in January of 1973 and was put up for adoption. I had a dislocated hip at birth and had to wear a body cast. What kind of hospital was this?

    • What part of the hospital did you work at? I was born in January 23rd, 1973. I had dislocated hips at birth and had to wear a body cast. I was put up for adoption.

  • What was the address and zip code of the old Wayne County General Hospital?

    • Don’t know the exact address, but it was next to (south of) 2001 Merriman Rd, Westland 48186

  • I was born at Eloise Hospital in 1977. I think it was referred to as Wayne County General Hospital. I remember my mother having to jump through hoops when I was 15 in order to get my birth certificate. I cannot remember if she got it from the city or Westland or Wayne or Lansing. The hospital has a rich history and it fascinates me. I would love to learn more.

  • My broken arm was set and put in a cast when I was 4 years old, in 1965, at Wayne County General Hospital’s emergency room. I’ve lived in Chicago for 30 years; I didn’t know until tonight that it had been torn down. Now I see that you can tour the Eloise Kay Beard Building. Wow.

  • I was born in Eloise according to my birth certificate. My mother was a patient there on and off for many years. I was her 10th child. I never knew her. After Eloise closed, she lived most of her life in a homeless state. Is there any way possible to obtain records of her time there or are they all discarded? I’m just curious and would like to know more about her. Thank you.

  • I was born there in July 1968.

  • My birth certificate tells me I was born here Jan 1970. How can I find out if I was adopted and who was my biological mother. This is scary to find out it was a hospital for mentally ill. I was always told my mother was taken to wrong hospital from eastside of Detroit. Please help me of you can for closure. The woman I know as my mother died 3 years ago.

  • Like many on this site, I was born in Eloise in 1967. Since I have learned more about Eloise, I have been disturbed with thoughts that my birth mother was put away in a mental hospital until I was born and possibly treated for depression afterwards. Can you tell me more of how young, unwed girls were treated in the 60’s?

  • My Grandmother was taken to Eloise for cancer treatment and died there due to radiation burns. I know it was an experimental procedure at the time and I like to think that she helped our medical team today with knowing how much radiation was too much. Anyway my question is does anyone know what building they housed the patients for radium treatment in? Is this the building that’s still standing?

  • My husband’s mother and uncle lived in the poorhouse at Eloise during the sixties. Their names were Lucille and Harold Moore. Lucille was deaf. I never met them but often wondered whatever happened to them. I’m pretty sure they are buried in the Eloise cemetery. I would greatly appreciate any information on them. thank you.

  • I was a student in the hospital laboratory. It was a one year on the job training program for Histotech. One building in the mental hospital called the “Terrace” was a dormatory for xray, lab and student doctors. We called the patients “POGEY”, shorthand for “poor old guy in eloise”. Soon after arriving a bunch of us students went out barefooted on a rainy day to run around in the rain and a guard stopped us and said we were in front of the TB building and it was a bad idea. I went for a walk one snowy night and was warned that I was in a mental hospital. I remember loud voices coming from some of the buildings like crying out. There was a small coffee shop luncheonette that patients could visit on the grounds. I think different buildings housed different levels of illness. The hospital had a tunnel that went to a patient building that had a library. I went there one day and saw a room with a TV and patients crowded around it. A room was filled with cots in a ward-like setting. There was a story about the POGEY carwash where patients were cleaned. The tunnel had phones every few feet should you meet up with a patient and need help. The patients that approached me asked for a dime or a cigarette. They seemed drugged or very docile. Our building was not that secure but patients rarely entered. We kept our individual doors locked to our rooms. The restrooms were like a big public restroom for the use of the floor. The bathtubs were in a separate room and each were in a stall. The women were on separate floors from the men. I must say we had great parties and it was a wonderful experience living and working in such a place. One time we had a major snow storm and ended up being sent out of the lab to work on the nursing floors. I worked in Ocupational therapy which was a great experience. As students we were treated royally. We had a deep sense of community and friendship. I was 19 and now I’m 72.

  • According to my birth certificate I was born in Eloise on November 1st, 1977 around 2:00 am. I believe my biological parents were unwed at the time and my Mom approximately 18-19 yrs. old and my Dad approximately 25. I also believe I have a biological brother approximately 16 months older than me. Not sure of his fate or that of my parents. I was adopted at 6 months old through Lutheran family services (Christian Family Services) in Southfield, Mi. My records are sealed and I’m just trying to find out more about where I was born and to whom. Any help would be greatly appreciated. If anyone has any info please contact me at brc1101@gmail.com

  • I was born in Eloise on July 23,1972, after 9pm.

    • Hello, I’m was born Jan 1974 at Eloise. My mother just told me I had blood transfusion when I was born but she doesn’t know or remember why So now I’m trying to find my medical records does anyone know how you can get medical records from the Wayne general hospital?

    • I was born on August 15th 1972 right after you!!

  • My grandmother, Cornelia Fields died at Eloise in 1950. I understand that bodies were transferred to Michigan University at that time. I cannot find an obituary anywhere. All the children have since passed away including my father. I never thought to ask about my grandmother from anyone for which I am extremely sorry. If anyone has any information about her, I would appreciate it. All I know is that she died at Eloise in 1950.

    • I do genealogy research so I have access to some death records. This is what I found:

      Name: Cornelia Jeanette Fields
      [Cornelia Jeanette Greenleaf]
      Gender: Female
      Race: White
      Marital status: Widowed
      Death Age: 78
      Birth Date: 15 Dec 1871
      Birth Place: Redknob W Virginia
      Death Date: 24 Aug 1950
      Death Place: Eloise, Wayne, Michigan, USA
      Father: George Greenleaf
      Mother: Harriet Raines
      File Number: 8202 29355

      I don’t have access to the actual record. But you have enough information, if you wanted to purchase a copy, to do so either through the state of Michigan or Wayne County.

  • I came here because I had a great grandaunt who died at Wayne County General Hospital in 1958. Her obituary was printed in her home town near Port Huron, MI. She spent her adult working life owning a millinery store in Detroit.

  • I was born in 1967 @ Eloise hospital.

  • I had an aunt that was in Eloise in 1930. The story was that she stayed on and worked in the laundry until her death in 1977. I cannot locate any records of her being in the Eloise cemetery. Is there any way to obtain any records of someone’s stay at Eloise?

  • My mother was at Eloise in 1972-73. I believe she gave birth to a boy in July of one of those years. I was told he died but found out when I was 10 it was not true. My mother passed and there were so many lies. He had dark hair she called him Jeff. Is there any way to find out if she was there and if she, in fact, gave birth?

  • I am also interested in getting medical records. I was born at WCGH in 1965. At approximately 8 years old, I was hit by a car on Cherry Hill Road. I was taken to WCGH where I was in traction for broken leg. One thing that I remember well was they had to drill holes in my ankles to set up the traction. I remember it feeling like I was there forever as I’m not even sure how long it actually was but I do believe quite awhile. I know all the nurses had time to get to know me and my family members. As a child, it was hard. I remember crying a lot for my mother, who was not able to be there all the time. I would like to get those medical records so I can know exactly what all my injuries were. My mother is no longer alive. My siblings only know, same as me, I was hospitalized for a long time, then in a body cast and relearning to walk.

  • My great aunt Marcia Jean Moore-Haggerty was murdered at Eloise on 9/12/1949. I’m trying to find anyone that might remember her being at the asylum. She was admitted in 1945. Also, I am unable to find her actual death certificate. cinder2@icloud.com Heather

  • Working on finding a death record there on 1/14/1950 – Erma Pauline Warrenfeltz Moss 1920 – 1950. Unfortunately, I cannot find out anything. 🙁

  • I was born at Wayne County Hospital in 1972. I moved out of Michigan when I was 6 so I do not remember it, but it has been a joke that where I was born was a mental hospital.

  • My birth certificate states that I was born in Eloise, Michigan in 1963. I always wondered if that means I was born in Eloise Asylum.

  • I was born in this hospital in August 1945. Also, it was a joke in my family that I was born in an insane asylum.

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