The following year an act of the legislature renamed it the Central Kentucky Lunatic Asylum.

The secluded, rural setting was typical of such facilities in the late 19th century, as such an environment was thought to be beneficial for recovery from mental illness.

The early years of the 1880s were marked by repeated allegations of patient abuse.

[4] Throughout Central States history, the institution suffered from improper funding, understaffing, and overcrowding.

The original hospital and surviving structures on what was called "the North Campus" were subsequently abandoned and demolished in the late 1990s.