IO HISTORICAL AND INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT. 



In addition to the steam railroad, the Monongahela Valley 

 Traction Company provides handy passenger service to 

 Clarksburg. 



Weston State Hospital. The Weston State Hospital, 

 formerly known as the West Virginia Hospital for the Insane, 

 which is located at Weston, is the second largest public insti- 

 tution of any sort within the State. It is devoted entirely to 

 the treatment of insane patients, having 1,035 of these unfor- 

 tunates on July 1, 1914. It is supported by State appropria- 

 tions, the annual expense being about $140,000. The pay roll 

 shows that, including the Superintendent, Dr. C. W. Halter- 

 man, and three other physicians, 146 persons are employed, 

 the annual amount of salaries for 1914 totaling $53,782.61. The 

 following facts taken from the State Board of Control Report 5 

 shows the scope and character of the institution : 



"Historical. 



"This is the oldest public institution of the State. It was estab- 

 lished by the State of Virginia by an act of the legislature passed in 

 1858, the first appropriation being $25,000.00. The first building, a 

 one-story structure, was ready for occupancy in September, 1859, and 

 the first patients were admitted in October, 1859. Nine patients had 

 been maintained in a hospital at Columbus, Ohio, pending the erection 

 of the hospital at Weston. 



"Dr. R. Hills, of Columbus, Ohio, was the first superintendent, and 

 the succeeding ones have been Dr. W. J. Bland in 1882, Dr. John H. 

 Lewis in 1886, Dr. W. P. Crumbacker in 1892, Dr. W. E. Stathers in 

 1896, Dr. A. H. Kunst in 1900, Dr. S. M. Steele in 1906, Dr. Chas. W. 

 Halterman in 1914. 



"The institution was taken over by the State of West Virginia 

 upon its admission into the Union, and in 1866 a number of insane 

 patients were removed to it from the hospitals at Williamsburg and 

 Staunton, and the State of Virginia was paid $23,700.00 for their sup- 

 port while in those institutions. 



jw- 



"Grounds. 



"The grounds belonging to the Hospital contain about 335 acres: 

 the property fronts about 2,000 feet on the West Fork River opposite 

 the town of Weston and extends back over the hills to the north to a 

 depth sufficient for this acreage. With the exception of the ground on 

 which the buildings are located, extending back from the river abo"T 

 800 feet, the land is very steep and entirely unsuitable for tillage 

 A very small portion is used for gardening, but in the main it is usrri 

 only for grazing. 



"Third Annual Report, State Board of Control, pp. 57-58; Part I; 

 1914. 



