Date: July
19, 2001
Cemetery: Western State Hospital Cemetery
Established: mid-1800's
Street: Highway 68
Type: Road-public
City: Hopkinsville
Township:
County: Christian
State: Kentucky
Nation: USA
Zip:
Nearby: Western State Hospital
Location: Suburban-developed
Land: Flat
Watersource: No
Features: Surrounded by fence, a few large trees, weeds
Sign: No
Land Type: Public
Access: Permission-required
Enclosure: Fence-Broken
Gate: Locks
Status: Abandoned
Size: Large
Gravestones: 40-100?
Oldest: mid-1800's
Newest: 1940's??
Unmarked: Yes
Broken: Yes
Toppled: Yes
Buried: No
Removed: Yes
Weather problems: Unknown
Pollution problems: Unknown
Association: No
Records: Unsure
Inventory: No
Records location: Western State Hospital has some old records but
will not release information.
Condition: Cemetery destroyed
Vandalized: Yes
Police report: No
VA: Gravestones-Overturned
VA: Gravestones-Broken
VA: Gravestones-Stolen
Overgrowth: Graves-Disturbing
Overgrowth: Gravestones-Disturbing
Vegetation: Ground-Cover
Drainage: Good
Problem: Encroachment
Problem: Restricted access
Problem: Access denied
Problem: Apathy
Problem: Disintegrating Headstones
Restoration: No work started as of yet
Owner: Cemetery
Use: Agricultural
Bordering: Residential
Change: Unknown
Reason:
Visited: Occasionally
Archeology: No
Contacted: WSH Officials over the years; Most recently Mr. Hayes,
acting director; And a historian in the county.
Other Information
This cemetery contains the bodies of patients
who died while residing at Western State Hospital, which was used at one
time for mental & physical ailments, currently only mental. All
graves are completely unmarked. WSH reports that at one time there were
wooden crosses which later burned. However, rumors are that this is
untrue. The field is not marked as a cemetery. One visitor in the
distant past found someone planting corn there. Now, it is just a large
empty field. We wanted to put a stone in the field to acknowledge our
loved one's resting place, although we do not know where his grave is
exactly. But WSH would not allow this; They did agree to our erecting a
stone bench instead. They will not release the names of the people
buried there. We wish to erect a sign marking it as a historical
cemetery, and someday with the names of the ones who are buried there.
We need help to figure out how to get this information. We want to
arrange a meeting with all concerned parties.
Support
Laura Day-Roth, M.A. gandalf@wko.com
(270)667-9093 305 West Main Street Providence, KY 42450
Submitted by:
name: Laura Day-Roth
Email: gandalf@wko.com
