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The Essex County Hospital Center was a county hospital located in the Township of Cedar Grove, New Jersey. The hospital was used to house mentally ill patients that were in need of care.

History

In 1896, a large portion of land was purchased by the City of Newark, New Jersey; the land was bought to build a new mental institution, known as Overbrook. During the late 1800s and early 1900s, many buildings were built that housed mental patients and other facilities, such as a power house, laundromat, and theater. According to Weird New Jersey, in the winter of 1917, the hospital suffered a major catastrophe with the failure of the hospital's boilers and a number of patients freezing to death in their beds.^[1] In 2008, the hospital was featured on the TV show Ghost Adventures and Ghost Hunters.

New hospital

In late 2006, the new Essex County Hospital Center opened just down the road from the site of the original Overbrook Hospital. This hospital center houses chronically ill psychiatric patients in need of longer lengths of stay than are available in community hospitals and medical centers. The new hospital center takes a cutting edge approach to behavioral health care, and its layout and programs stand in stark contrast to the hundred year old facility it replaced. The new hospital is located at 204 Grove Avenue in Cedar Grove.

• Weird NJ History, Photos, Legends of Essex County Hospital (AKA Overbrook Asylum for the Insane).
• .designedbreakdown. Short history and photo gallery exhibiting present-day decay on the site.
• Shadows and Rust Recent photographs of the inside and outside of the site prior to demolition.
• North Jersey Exploration Pictures of Overbrook Hospital.
• Vacant New Jersey Photographs of Essex County Hospital Center.

In Popular Culture

• The hospital was filmed on the movie, Choke.
• In 2008, the hospital was featured on the documentary television show, Ghost Adventures, which airs on the Travel Channel.
• In 2009, the hospital was featured on Ghost Hunters on Syfy.
• In 2009, on Halloween the hospital was featured on Ghost Hunters Live on Syfy.
• In 2009, the hospital was featured on Ghost Hunters Academy on Syfy.

References