Near Petersburg in Dinwiddie County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)

Central State Hospital Cemetery

Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), August 21, 2021

1. Central State Hospital Cemetery Marker

Inscription. This cemetery is the final resting place for thousands of patients treated at the nation's first stand-alone psychiatric hospital for African Americans, originally known as the Central Lunatic Asylum and later renamed Central State Hospital. The asylum, which became a state institution in 1870, moved here from a location near Richmond in 1885. Deceased patients were interred in this burial ground from the mid-1880s until a new cemetery opened a short distance southeast of here in 1939. In some years during this period, more than 10 percent of the hospital's patients died. Graves were originally marked with small stones that deteriorated over time.

Erected 2020 by Department of Historic Resources. (Marker Number S-98.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Cemeteries & Burial Sites • Science & Medicine. In addition, it is included in the Virginia Department of Historic Resources (DHR) series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1870.

Location. 37° 12.096′ N, 77° 27.281′ W. Marker is near Petersburg, Virginia, in Dinwiddie County. It is

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on 7th Avenue 0.1 miles south of Accomac Street, on the right when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 6 7th Ave, Petersburg VA 23803, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Virginia’s Piedmont,

in Southside Virginia,

and specifically in Central Virginia.

It is also in the American South

and specifically in the Upper South.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the original Thirteen Colonies,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: The Battle of Fort Whitworth (about 600 feet away, measured in a direct line); Siege of Petersburg—Grant's Eighth Offensive (approx. ¼ mile away); Confederate Fort Gregg (approx. 0.3 miles away); Fort Gregg (approx. 0.4 miles away); Confederate Fort Whitworth (approx. 0.4 miles away); Southside Virginia Training Center (approx. 0.6 miles

Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), August 21, 2021

2. Central State Hospital Cemetery Marker

away); Rohoic Dam (approx. 0.7 miles away); The Civil War Years (approx. 0.9 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Petersburg.

Another marker is no longer nearby. Petersburg State Colony for the Negro Insane (was approx. 0.6 miles away but has been replaced with another marker now near it).

Also see . . . Central State Hospital - Hiram W. Davis Cemetery at Find A Grave. (Submitted on August 22, 2021, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio.)

Additional keywords. mental healthcare; segregation; Jim Crow era

Credits. This page was last revised on July 25, 2025. It was originally submitted on August 22, 2021, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 1,819 times since then and 75 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on August 22, 2021, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.