| The OES visited the Lakin Industrial School
for Colored Boys on August 14, 2005. While visiting the TNT Area and the town of Point Pleasant, West
Virginia, we stumbled upon this old boy's home while driving along
Route 62. The building was often misidentified as insane asylum
Lakin State Hospital, but the hospital is actually located across
the street. Built in 1924, the Lakin Industrial School for Colored
Boys was founded by T.G. Nutter, Harry Capehart, and T.J. Coleman,
three African-American legislators who created several state-funded
reform institutions for African-Americans between 1919 and 1921. The
building was built of fireproof materials and was very sturdy. In
the 1940s, a gymnasium was added and several other outbuildings
followed. The school employed African-American staff and housed
African-American juvenile delinquents who worked at the surrounding
farm. In 1954, the Brown versus Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas
desegregated many public schools and colleges in West Virginia,
including the Lakin Industrial School for Colored Boys in 1956. The
inmates who were still incarcerated at the school were transferred
to the Industrial School in Pruntytown. After the building was
abandoned, the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Services
owned the building, but eventually transferred it to the West
Virginia Department of Agriculture in 1976. In 2000 a fire did very
little damage to the building, a testament to the strength of the
structure, even after being abandoned for nearly fifty years.
American Electric Power acquired the property and, in November 2006,
demolished the Lakin Industrial School for Colored Boys to make room
for their river operations. |
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| Location
Information: Demolished |
| The Lakin Industrial School for Colored Boys
was located off Route 62 near Point Pleasant, WV. |
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| Photographs:
Exterior & Outbuildings |
The front of the Lakin Industrial School for Colored Boys as seen from Route 62. A side profile of the buidling taken from the driveway leading behind the structure. The rear of the building. Most of the windows were busted out, the place had been heavily vandalized. The front of the building was covered in vegetation. The railing on the front porch includes the date 1924. One side of the building. One of the many entry points, there were no locked door here anymore. A sheet-metal awning covered these first floor windows. The rear doors was the main entry point during our visit. There were a few outbuildings behind the main structure that were closer to the river. This yellow building was the largest of them, with Lakin State Farm written across the front. This smaller one story building sat next to the Lakin State Farm building. This entry was blocked by two old soda machines. This entry was open, but after stepping in, we realized there was a large bee nest, so we quickly left. This is the gymnasium that was built in the 1940s. This door went into the gym. The inside of this building looked newer. The structure seemed sound and ready to go back into service. The signs for Lakin State Hospital located across the street.
The front of the Lakin Industrial School for Colored Boys as seen from Route 62.
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Photographs:
Interior |
This was our first look inside the Lakin Industrial School. Paint peeling from the walls, graffiti, debris...your typical abandoned building. This main room had hallways going off to either side. Most of the rooms were well lit by many windows. Looking down one of the long hallways. Some of the rooms were very small, like this one. This room had a few stacks of decaying mattresses stacked in the corners. The insides of the mattresses covered the floor, and smelled horrible. Paint peeling from the wall and an asbestos-covered pipe. Yet another pile of rotting mattresses. Smashed furniture and pieces of the wall. Another one of the narrow halls. This large room contained some old cabinets and other furniture. The doorway to the next room. We're back to where we entered the building. This room was probably the cafeteria. The cafeteria window between the dining area and the kitchen. A large range hood where the food used to be prepared. This small room was just off the main kitchen area. Maybe an old refrigeration unit. The set of stairs on this end of the building, near the kitchen. The drywall dividing these rooms was busted out for the most part. A pink bathtub was in one of the rooms. You can see where coat hangers used to be attached to the wall in this closet. A busted toilet in a tiny bathroom. See a pattern with the hallways? They're all pretty narrow. This room was empty for the most part. A busted wall and lots of debris. One of the rooms contained this retro range/oven. Springs of an old rotted mattress. This was one of the fuse boxes in the building. Metal supports for the bed, a chalk board, and a 12 pack of Bud Light. This was probably once the main entry to the Industrial School. This room contained a blue bathtub. Cabinets just to the left of the blue tub. This average-sized room was pretty empty. Busted walls show the original fireproof construction materials. These offices that used wood were probably built later. A large room on one of the upper floors. The ceiling of this room was heavily damaged, so the attic could be seen. A ladder leading to the roof. Too bad there was no way to get up there. Some more mattress springs. This small room on the top floor had two windows. A corner room of one of the upper floors. Notice the tiles on the floor. The other corner of the same room. This room was probably a bathroom, complete with an old trough-style urinal. This appears to be a shower stall in the corner. Busted remnants of the bathroom's toilets. A smaller restroom with busted toilets was the last thing we looked at on our way out of the old school.
This was our first look inside the Lakin Industrial School.
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