Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum Weston, WV.

Yes, I know the name is not really politically correct, but that's what they call it. While operating, it was generally called Weston State Hospital.

This is an amazing place. I try not to write about facts that can be found on wikipedia, or on a locations homepage, so I will try to stick with the info our tour guide gave us.

They started working on building this place BEFORE the Civil War! It was in use until 1994 as a mental health facility. Our guide, Kathy Turner, worked there from 1970 until 1994, when it closed.

It was great fun having a guide with such a personal connection to the place. Kathy may have been the best tour guide we have ever had. I love historic tours, but rarely do you have the opportunity to have a guide with such an authentic connection.

There are two tours you can take. For $10 you get a tour of the entire first floor, and there is a $30 four floor tour. They have a late night ghost tour going on too, which is also fun, but I do like getting the actual historical info.

Kathy talked to us about the criteria for getting someone admitted, the number of patients housed there at different times, the role Weston played in the Civil War, and she did a great job of discussing some of the barbaric practices that mental health has utilized.

The architecture is stunning. The main building is huge. The history is endless.

I did watch the Ghost Adventures Live show from there over Halloween weekend. That was a lot of fun. The site deserves that kind of attention and publicity. I was happy to see Dean Haglund hosting it.

This is a great place to visit for many reasons, and it is a day trip drive from the Eastern Kentucky area.