Postcards, Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum (Fort Defiance)

Construction of the Trans-Allegheny Asylum for the Insane (also referred to as the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum) began in 1858, built with stones quarried by prisoners and built by masons brought to the area from Germany and Ireland. The centerpiece of the building, a tower with a Seth Thomas clock similar to that on the West Virginia University tower, was added in 1871. The building with all additions was completed in 1881. 

Reasons for patients’ admissions to the hospital were extremely varied and included: dog bite, being kicked in the head by a horse, menstrual deranged, rumor of husband murder, political excitement, asthma, and female disease.

It was renamed the Weston State Hospital in 1913, and by 1994 —- when it was closed to public use —- was simply known as Weston Hospital.

While the hospital was closed to public use in 1994, it was re-opened for historic tours. Tour guests are educated about the often cruel and inhumane treatment of patients by methods such as electroshock and insulin shock therapies, as well as the impact historical events such as the Great Depression and World War II had on the hospital. 

This postcard was mailed in 1908, while the asylum was known as the West Virginia Hospital for the Insane.