Staunton
The Blackburn Inn
Rooms in the 1828 main building of Western State Hospital, founded in 1825 as the Western Lunatic Asylum; the inn says the room layouts are original.
- Built
- 1828The inn's rooms are in the 1828 property (official); DHR dates Western State Hospital's main building to 1828 (designed by William Small; built 1826-28 per the 1987 nomination). HHA instead credits Thomas R. Blackburn and the 1830s.
- Style
- Classical Revival / Federal institutional
- Architect
- William Small
- Type
- Inn
- Rooms
- 49
- Credentials
- Listed on the National Register of Historic Places; Historic Hotels of America member
The story
Founded in 1825 as the Western Lunatic Asylum of Virginia, the institution was one of the nation’s early efforts at enlightened care for the mentally ill. Baltimore architect William Small designed the five-part main building of 1828, which DHR calls remarkably unaltered; porticoes were added in 1847. Thomas Blackburn, an early superintendent of buildings, planned the chapel building of 1851. The hospital moved out in the 1970s, the site served as a state prison until 2002, and the complex passed to private owners in 2005.
Good to know
- Address: 301 Greenville Avenue, Staunton, VA 24401
Sources (3)
Last verified October 2026. Details change; confirm with the inn before you book.