Letchworth Village

Location Data

Built: 1909 Closed: 1996
Opened: 1911 Demolished / Renovated: N/A
Location Age: 101 years Abandonment: 14 years
Current Status: Abandoned
Location Genre: State School / Developmental Center / Training Center
Located In: Thiells, NY 
Alternate Names: Letchworth Village Home for the Feeble Minded and Epileptics, Letchworth Village Developmental Center, LVDC, Hudson Valley DDSO
In 1908, a facility was to be built by the State of New York for the "feeble minded and epileptics", called the Eastern N.Y. State Custodial Asylum. One year later, it was renamed Letchworth Village Home for the Feeble Minded and Epileptics after William Pryor Letchworth, a noted humanitarian who advocated the creation of the institution. The center was built in a college style layout nestled among beautiful hills, and the buildings are adorned with greek porticoes and tall arched windows. Closed in 1996, some of the buildings have been re-used, and others remain vacant.

Some buildings are used by the town, and some of the grounds have been converted to a small golf course that winds throughout one side of the campus. On the other side, a middle school has been built, and some of the property looks to be going under construction for either demolition or re-use.

September 2006 Update: The Letchworth Village property is going to be developed into a mixed-use community by Spectrum Communities, under the name of Encore Haverstraw.
Galleries
Articles
Date Published Title
01-14-2008 Haverstraw wary on Encore project as developer hits financial rocks
12-06-2006 Large building in flames at Letchworth