Annual Report of the Central Lunatic Asylum of the State of Virginia for the Fiscal Year Ending September 30, 1889

Richmond: J. L. Hill Printing Company, 1889. Paperback. Very Good. 39p. Softcover in original wrappers. 23 cm. Cover edges slightly darkened. Dark smudges (finger marks) on lower corner of title page and on a couple of other leaves. This state institution for the treatment of "colored persons of unsound mind" was established in 1870 at a former confederate hospital in Richmond which had been used for the treatment of wounded soldiers. The institution relocated to expanded facilities in Petersburg in 1885. At the time of this report, the facility had a 600 bed capacity. Superintendent Barksdale's report recommends adding another 300 beds. The name of (truncated) the facility was changed to Central State Hospital in 1893. The patient population continued to grow, reaching about 4800 in the 1950s. The facility was integrated in 1967 and appears to still function as a state psychiatric hospital. Early reports, such as this one, appear to be quite scarce. (Inventory #: 91655)