First Johnson County Asylum

The First Johnson County Asylum is a historic building located on the far west side of Iowa City, Iowa, United States. The first facility Johnson County built to care for paupers and the mentally ill was a four-room cabin in 1855. Two wings were added to the original building six years later. All that remains of this structure is this wing that housed the mentally ill.[3] The single-story wood-frame structure with a gable roof was used by the county for this purpose until 1886 when a new facility was completed. It was initially thought that it was built in 1859, but later research revealed that it was built in 1861 and that it was moved a short distance to this location in 1888.[1] This building served for many years as a hog building on the Johnson County Poor Farm.[4] It is now part of an education-based farm program called Grow:Johnson County. The building was individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.[2] In 2014 it was included as a contributing property in the Johnson County Poor Farm and Asylum Historic District.[1]

First Johnson County Asylum
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district Contributing property
The asylum building is on the right.
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Location	West of Iowa City
Coordinates	41°39′22.6″N 91°36′19.4″W
Area	less than one acre
Built	1861[1]
Part of	Johnson County Poor Farm and Asylum Historic District (ID14000668)
NRHP reference No.	78001226[2]
Added to NRHP	August 31, 1978