Lakin State Hospital
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Former namesLakin State Hospital for the Colored Insane
StatusRepurposed
Partially Demolished
Partially Demolished
TypeInstitutional
LocationLakin, West Virginia, United States
| Lakin State Hospital | |
|---|---|
State Hospital for the Colored Insane | |
 Interactive map of the Lakin State Hospital area | |
| Former names | Lakin State Hospital for the Colored Insane |
| General information | |
| Status | Repurposed Partially Demolished |
| Type | Institutional |
| Location | Lakin, West Virginia, United States |
| Construction started | 1919 |
| Opened | 1926 |
| Closed | 1979 |
| Owner | State of West Virginia |
| Technical details | |
| Material | Foundation-Stone, Exterior-Brick, Roof-Slate |
| Design and construction | |
| Known for | The only state hospital with an all black staff, including the superintendent |
Lakin State Hospital for the Colored Insane — later called simply Lakin State Hospital — was a publicly-funded psychiatric hospital located along West Virginia Route 62 in Lakin, Mason County, West Virginia near Point Pleasant. It operated for 53 years from 1926 until 1979.
During segregation and Jim Crow, the asylum was designated by the State of West Virginia to care for the "colored insane".[1] It would become one of only two known psychiatric institutions that was entirely run by people of color serving an all black population.[2][3]
