Opened on July 11, 1911, the new 2,000 acre facility was originally named The Eastern New York State Custodial Asylum. Local residents gathered fieldstone from the nearby fields to construct the buildings. The facility was renamed Letchworth Village in 1909 in honor of William Pryor Letchworth, a wealthy philanthropist and humanitarian, who advocated the creation of the village.

When built it was one of the finest institutions for treatment of the developmentally disabled. The plan was for 130 buildings in six groups and was designed to be as self sufficient as possible, even having it's own power plant, waste disposal and water supply but by the mid 1960's over crowding and under staffing had taken it's toll and conditions had drastically deteriorated.

A documentary by Geraldo Rivera in 1971 exposed the deplorable conditions found at Letchworth Village and Willowbrook (an institution on Staten Island) which earned him a Peabody award. A federal class action lawsuit soon followed and the passage of a federal law entitled the "Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act of 1980".

Letchworth Village Home closed it's doors in 1996. Below are some news articles, etc., that have been transcribed and submitted for inclusion on this page.

Syracuse Journal, May 12, 1911

Lillian White - Dead or Alive, May 13, 1922

Letchworth Promises to help find Lillian White

Lillian White article - May 28, 1922

11 Girls Believed Slain

Lillian White article, May 27, 1925

Cornerstone of New State Building Laid - Aug 9, 1930

Christmas Gifts Sought - Dec 2, 1953

Widespread deficiencies found - June 24, 1984