WALL TOWNSHIP, NJ – Police at the Jersey Shore are seeking to identify trespassers at the abandoned Arthur Brisbane Child Treatment Facility located in Wall Township, Monmouth County.
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“Over the last several months, detectives from the Troop “C” Criminal Investigation Office have responded to multiple reports of trespassing, burglaries, thefts and criminal mischief at the property,” police said. “The following suspects were captured on video surveillance trespassing on the property on different days. We would like to remind the public that the property is restricted and trespassing is strictly prohibited.”
In recent years, the site has become a magnet for adventure seekers and abandoned site YouTubers and TikTok influencers.
The center bears the name of Arthur Brisbane, the man who first sought to preserve the history and heritage of Allaire State Park. Brisbane was a newspaperman and real estate investor. He brokered many newspaper acquisitions for media mogul William Randolph Hearst. He began buying real estate around Allaire in 1907. His goal was to restore the old Howell Iron Works and share it with the public. Brisbane died in 1936 and his wife carried out his wishes to donate 1,200 acres of the Allaire property to the State of New Jersey. It later became what is known today as Allaire State Park.
Brisbane built his home on the property. After his death, in 1944 his family deeded his mansion to the State of New Jersey. Three years later, the state began using the home to treat mentally disabled children between the ages of 5 and 12 years old. The facility became the children’s unit of the infamous Marlboro State Hospital. In 1972, a larger school building was constructed on the property. By most accounts, life for children at the asylum at Allaire was no walk in the park. Stories of mistreatment, neglect, abuse, and even sexual assault were commonplace during its existence. In 1987, the role of the facility was expanded to care for mentally ill children up to the age of 17.
In 1988, the children’s mental unit at the Trenton State Hospital was shut down after a lawsuit alleging poor treatment of children. That lawsuit prompted a state investigation into Brisbane, which found that children were being injured by negligence due to outdated equipment and practices by the staff at the center. The building house more than twice as many children and staff members were caught mistreating the children. State officials in 1989 recommended Brisbane be shut down. It was not until 1998, despite repeated warnings of rampant patient abuse, things came to a head at the center with the death of 17-year-old Kelly Young.
