The Partlow State School and Hospital was established in 1923 in Tuscaloosa to serve intellectually disabled people in the state. It shared a superintendent with nearby Bryce Hospital, which served the mentally ill. It was named for ardent eugenicist and superintendent William D. Partlow, who advocated compulsory sterilization of patients. Partlow was part of the 1970 case Wyatt v. Stickney aimed at addressing severe understaffing and poor levels of care for patients at Alabama’s three state hospitals for the mentally and intellectually disabled.
