EVANSTON, Wyo. — The first building at the Wyoming State Hospital opened in 1889.
“The Wyoming State Hospital has been here before Wyoming was a state," said Jim Davis, chair of the Evanston Historic Preservation Commission.
Many Evanston residents worked at the hospital, serving patients with mental illness, and have fond memories of the days before it shut down just a couple of years ago.
“We had psychologists from all over the world," said Vickie Fruits. "We had some from Japan and everything. And they love to stay in that building because they thought it was haunted. They loved it.”
Davis said the Wyoming Department of Health plans to demolish the historic brick buildings in July of 2024.
Monday evening, dozens of people rallied on the side of the road to prove that 'This place matters.'
“Sometimes we’re forgotten," said Davis. "And we'd like to demonstrate that we do care about our history and about those buildings.”
Aside from historic preservation, there are many reasons why the buildings should stay, he said.
“There's plenty of uses," said Davis. "There's mainly housing. We have a housing shortage in Evanston. There's also, since it's a campus environment, it can be used for educational opportunities. There's a full kitchen with all the equipment to where we can possibly open a culinary school.”
Evanston City Councilwoman Jen Hegeman said it would cost almost as much to demolish the buildings as it would to restore them.
“Our town needs help," she said. "We need jobs. We need schools. We need everything that that has, and has historically provided. That's what that institution did for the city of Evanston.”
FOX 13 News reached out to the Wyoming Department of Health, but we have not heard back.
There is a Facebook page people can follow as well as a petition people can sign to support the old hospital.
