Weston, West Virginia: Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum

This West Virginia state facility served as a sanctuary for the mentally ill from the 1860s to the 1990s. The history of the building includes Civil War tales, a gold robbery, the "curative" effects of architecture, and the efforts of determined individuals to help better the lives of the mentally ill.

The Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum (later named Weston State Hospital), constructed between 1858 and 1881, is the largest hand-cut stone masonry building in North America, and is purportedly the second largest in the world, next to the Kremlin. It was designed by the renowned architect Richard Andrews following the Kirkbride plan, which called for long rambling wings arranged in a staggered formation, assuring that each of the connecting structures received an abundance of therapeutic sunlight and fresh air.

The original hospital, designed to house 250 souls, was open to patients in 1864 and reached its peak in the 1950's with 2,400 patients in overcrowded and generally poor conditions. Changes in the treatment of mental illness and the physical deterioration of the facility forced its closure in 1994 inflicting a devastating effect on the local economy, from which it has yet to recover.

This facility was recently purchased and is being renovated. It features events such as historical tours, ghost tours, ghost hunts, mud bogs, and an autumn festival.