Wards of Silence

Film

Fergus Falls: The Asylum a Town Refused to Lose (1890, MN)

Why won't this tiny Minnesota town let its asylum die? Fergus Falls State Hospital (1890) was a 1,600-foot Kirkbride palace where 40,000 patients passed through — most poor, court-ordered, forgotten. When it closed in 2005, the city wanted it demolished. But neighbors, historians and locals stood in the way — marching every September to save the castle.