Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1897-06-03


find, however, upon examination ofon
of the biennial reports of the institu-
ton, that the main building, includ-
ing furniture, cost $625,0O0. As the
beneficiary of Virginia, the building
was designed to accommodate $50 pa
tients, and was intended solely for the
acute insane, or that class which was
considered durable byreceiying prompt
and skillful treatment in an institution
combining all of the modern facilities
Had the mother State continued IN
tact this idea could have probably
maintained, as there were two other
large asylums for the treatment of the
insane within her borders, and II was
doubtless contemplated to treat the
more recent cases in the Weston hos
pital, and to congregate the chronic
and incurable classes in the other asy-
lums. The separation of the territory,
however, made it incumbent upon
West Virginia to provide room for the
patients confined in the hospitals of
Virginia that were originally sent from
counties comprising the new State: and
it is, therefore, lameRtable fact that
as each section of the new hospital was
completed and opened to the reception
of patients it was filled almost to It's
utmost capacity by this class Of incur
ables, together with those which had
accumulated in the jails Of the State
during the war The building, as con-
structed under the original plan, was
found inadequate to accommodate the
increasing number of insane in the
State, and, consequently, the leglsla-
ture has, from time to time, made hb-
eral and munifcent appropriations for
the erection of four additional detach-
ed brick buildings, one of which is
used for the colored insane. All of
these buildings are abundautly sup
piled with hot and cold water, and
suitably and comfortably furnished
throughout with good and substan-
tial class of furniture.
The total appropriations from all
sources for construction purposes, as
near as am able to ascertain from the
various reports of the institution, some
of which, however, are not very clear
on the subject, approximate about one
million dollars. At the first blush
these figures appear to be very large
but when it is remembered that the
main building has an inside length Of
1895 feet four inches and a frontage
of l,2ll feet four inches, not consld-
erng the laps that the central or adj
ministrative building Is FIVE stories
high and has on either side Of 1t two
four.story sections, with wings one and
two stories high; that all Of the outer
walls Of this immense structure are
built of cut, solid blue sandstone, lined
with brick, making them from q to
3! feet thick that the whole interior
is subdivided by thick brick partitions
some conception may be had Of the
cost incident thereto.
To convey some idea of the magni-
tude of this building, it is needful only
to say that the slate roofing on 1t covers
an area equal to 81 acres. 1t has 9
acres of flooring, a miles Of sewer
pipe, one-half mile Of ventilatIng pipe,
Is miles of heating pipe, q miles Of
gas pipe and 9 miles Of spouting and
drainage pipe The main tower on
the centre building is 200 feet high,
and there are four towers on the four
story sections each 80 feet high. The
main building contains 92l windows
and 906 doors, and it has been estimat-
ed that a strip Of ground one'half mile
long, one-eighth mile wide and 30 feet
high could be stored within its walls.
1t is no small undertaking to traverse
all the halls of this mammoth struct-
ure, for it has been figured that It
would require walk Of q miles to
accomplish it, and, to include the de-
tached buildings, in which several hum
dred patients are treated, the distance
would be almost, if not quite, doubled.
The main building is probably the
most imposing structure in the State,
and viewed from a point where the
vision will embrace it in its entirety
it presents picture of beautiful
blending Of massive material into SYM
metrical proportions. 1t will endure
to the name Of a generous and noble
hearted people, and future generations
can not help but regard it as one of
the great achievements Of the present
age. Taken in connection with its
beautiful surroundings, flower gardens,
shade trees, drive-ways, lakelets and
summer houses, it forms a landscape