BALDWIN COUNTY, Ga. — Central State Hospital - a mental health hospital in Milledgeville - is still waiting on the Jones, Walker and Green buildings to see if they will be torn down or if a developer will be able to buy the buildings.
Jessica Whitehead is a Milledgeville native who says she is an advocate for mental health, and became interested in the hospital.
"When people come visit the museum, I am not sure there is a single person that has to come through the door that have not had their own personal connection to Central State Hospital," she said.
Whitehead says she found her love for Central State by taking pictures and connecting with others. She says she was inspired by the death of her mentor, who was also interested in the hospital's history.
Whitehead says the photos were a way for her to get closure. She says that led her to join the Georgia's Old Capital Heritage Center board and bring her photos to the museum at Central State's old depot.
"I said, 'Let me take the room that we do have renovated and make that into a museum exhibit about Central State Hospital,' and the board was on board with it," she says.
She says the board's support led her to now being president of the non-profit and opening her own photo display last May.
She wants to see more people preserving the history of central state, and perhaps even its buildings, she said.
"It makes me sad," she said. "I would love to see every building out here restored to it's former capacity and beauty."
She says she knows that might not happen. Whitehead says taking these photos and bringing the museum to life is part of her advocacy. She says she even has a website and Facebook called Seeking Asylum.
"When we preserve the history of the institution, we in turn preserve the history of the individuals who lived and who were treated here and the many individuals who died here," she said.
Those are individuals she says she does not want to forget.
Whitehead said she hopes to bring more exhibits and more artifacts to the museum.