The Stauntonian

The Stauntonian

Local History

The Asylum on the Hill

Western State Hospital opened in 1828 with gardens, a cupola, and a radical idea about healing. Its two centuries since include some of the most humane and some of the darkest chapters in Virginia

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Brad Thomas
Jul 15, 2026
∙ Paid
Western State Hospital Complex | Photo by Ned Hartley, Wikipedia

The first patient arrived on the morning of July 24, 1828. He was a teacher, and the diagnosis written into the register was “hard stud…

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