Opening Doors to the Central State Hospital Depot

Open the Doors to Life-Long Learning

at the Historic CSH Depot 

The Depot on the historic Central State Hospital campus in Milledgeville, GA, was built in 1891, served for 120+ years as the campus depot/storehouse, is on the National Register of Historic Places, and was an integral part of what was at times the world’s largest mental institution. Today, this Victorian building, with its soaring curved roof and lacy bargeboard, is urging us to breathe new life into it, as Georgia’s Old Capital Heritage Center (GOCHC). We need your support to enable us to begin using The Depot to share the repository of centuries of middle Georgia history and vibrant cultural heritage with you.

Now that the west wing loading dock/stage and Central State Hospital exhibit is complete, our goal is to raise $65,000 to renovate the east wing interior of The Depot by providing restrooms, gallery space for historical artifacts, space for educational programs and events, and more.  Partner with us as we begin this next exciting project that is sure to benefit students, residents, tourists, historians and life-long learners. Your donation will help the GOCHC “open the doors” to tell the story of the first inhabitants, the appearance of colonists and frontiersmen, the years Milledgeville was the Georgia capital (1807-1868), life before, during, and after the Civil War, and the growth of rural, middle Georgia up to the turn of the 19th to 20th centuries.

Your generous donation to The Heritage Center will:

•  help restore the interior of The Historic Depot on the Central  State Hospital campus; 

•    make life-long learning available to all ages in this rural area, as well as, for national and international visitors; 

•    supplement and enrich classroom learning; 

• create opportunities to experience local/state history, education, art, and economic growth; 

•  leverage grant potential from the USDA Rural Development program. 

Lasting impressions are made when communities provide opportunities to share, to educate, and to celebrate local history and culture.  Consider giving this year in tribute to a favorite educator or mentor, in honor of the employees that worked or individuals that were hospitalized at the Central State Hospital, or to celebrate opportunities for life-long learning in general. Georgia’s Old Capital Heritage Center, at The Depot, Inc. NEEDS YOU!