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Topeka State Hospital

The Topeka State Hospital, a publicly funded institution for the care and treatment of the mentally ill in Topeka, Kansas, was in operation from 1872 to 1997. For some, the grounds of the hospital became their final resting place. With only a few exceptions, individuals were buried without markers. The burial records are not at the State Archives. If you need to locate an individual grave to place a headstone on it, contact the Kansas Dept. of Administration. Facilities, Maintenance and Grounds Division, (785)296-8070. Below is a searchable index to the 1,157 individuals buried in the hospital cemetery.

Fill in one or more of the following:

Last Name: First Name:
Use Soundex? [Soundex finds names that sound similar, although not spelled the same, as for example Turner, Terner, and Trimmer, or Watson and Whitson.]

Patient case files from 1872 until the 1960s were filmed and placed in the State Archives at the Historical Society. The originals were destroyed. Only familial relations of deceased patients and living former patients can request information from these records. Kansas Statute 65-5603, paragraph 14, specifies the information that can be released for family history research, including: dates of birth and death, dates at hospital, and names and addresses of family members.  The medical information, including the DIAGNOSIS, is not open. To obtain copies from these records, please fill out and submit our request form to the reference staff along with payment for our reference fee.

1880 drawing of Topeka State Hospital grounds