Skip to content
Department of State Homepage State Library & Archives of Florida Services for Citizens Services for State Employees Services for Librarians Services for Archivists Services for Records Managers

Division of Library and Information Services : Research : Search Our Catalogs : Archives Catalog

State Archives of Florida Online Catalog

Magnifying glass over a document.

The Online Catalog allows searching and browsing of information about the Florida State Archives’ holdings of over 48,000 cubic feet of state and local government records and historical manuscripts. The catalog provides descriptions of over 3,400 collections and lists the contents of containers and folders in many of those collections. For assistance with accessing and using State Archives collections, call our Reference Staff at 850.245.6719 or email us at archives@dos.myflorida.com.


Search | Advanced Search  | Browse Indexes | Browse Collections  | FAQ

Details Page

Click on for detailed listing.
Record Group Number: 000841
Series/Collection Number: .S 1062
Creator: Florida State Hospital.
Title, Dates: Commitment records, 1893-1975.
Amount: 321.00 cubic ft.
Medium Included:
Organization/Arrangement: Alphabetical by last name, then chronlogical by date of commitment. Later records are numerical by case number.
Restrictions: **RESTRICTED**Records restricted per s. 394.4615, F.S. and will be open for inspection 50 years from date of creation per 257.38(2), F.S.
Terms Governing Use:
Biographical/Historical:
Summary:     The series contains commitment records which document the procedure by which persons were committed to the Florida State Hospital and its predecessor, the Florida Hospital for the Insane. The records begin in 1893 and continue until 1973 when the "Baker Act" was passed eliminating the need for a separate commitment record.  At this time, the commitment papers were included in a patient's medical record (See Series 1063).

    Early commitment records usually contain a copy of the official court record entitled "Insanity.  Commitment to Asylum."  This document contains information on a patient including the cause of illness, the patient's condition as a result of the illness, and any correspondence regarding commitment.  Later records contain mostly routine court documents committing an individual, but in some cases relevant correspondence is also present.
Finding Aids: Box listing available. 0
Partial MS Access database index to patient records (in process): see Reference staff. #
Additional Physical Form:
Reproduction Note:
Location of Originals/Duplicates:
Associated Materials:
Language Notes:
Ownership/Custodial History:
Publication Note:
General Note:
Electronic Records Access:
Subject Access Fields: Psychiatric hospitals Florida
State hospitals Florida
Insanity Jurisprudence Florida
Medical records. aat
Added Entries Florida Hospital for the Insane.