The Tioronda/Craig House, The Abandoned Hospital That Once Housed A Kennedy
Joel M. NadlerTioronda, or the Craig House, largely tended to wealthy or famous clientele like Rosemary Kennedy and Zelda Fitzgerald.
Located near Beacon, New York is an abandoned Gothic mansion that once housed both Rosemary Kennedy and Zelda Fitzgerald. Unfortunately for both patients of America’s first privately licensed psychiatric hospital, their stays were short-lived and both of their stories ended in tragedy.
Originally named Tioronda, the building was first constructed for Civil War Brigadier General Joseph Howland. The facility became a psychiatric institution in 1915, and it largely tended to mentally ill patients who had famous and wealthy families. With 60 acres of land, including a pool, gym, and golf course, the facility certainly wasn’t cheap.
The institution was eventually renamed Craig House, and Dr. Clarence J. Slocum oversaw most of the mental health treatments there. Slocum firmly believed that mentally ill patients could benefit enormously from intensive talk therapy and from both indoor and outdoor recreation.
While the Craig House was viewed as America’s most prestigious hub of mental rehabilitation, the reality behind its walls was far from perfect, and many patients suffered from conditions that the staff struggled to treat.
In 1941, John F. Kennedy’s sister Rosemary Kennedy underwent a lobotomy at the age of just 23 at the request of her father. The operation was supposed to “cure” Rosemary of her intellectual challenges so that her brothers would have an easier time succeeding in politics, but it left her severely disabled and no longer able to speak or walk properly.
In an attempt to help her recover — while also keeping her hidden from the public eye — her family sent her away to be institutionalized in the Craig House. She was later moved to the St. Coletta School of Exceptional Children in Jefferson, Wisconsin, where she stayed for the rest of her life.
Zelda Fitzgerald, the wife of writer F. Scott Fitzgerald, was another famous patient at Craig House. She struggled with mental health issues throughout her life, and spent time at Craig House in the 1930s. She was later sent to Highland Hospital, which she checked in and out of depending on the state of her depression. Tragically, she died in a fire there in 1948.
Henry Fonda's wife — and Jane Fonda's mother — Frances Ford Seymour died by suicide at the Craig House in 1950, by slitting her own throat. She left a note to her doctors that read: "Sorry, but this is the best way out."
As for the Craig House itself, the facility closed in 1999, and it was largely abandoned and forgotten for years. The site has been extensively renovated and restored in recent times, however, and it's believed that the property will soon reopen as a spa, perhaps as early as 2026.
