Bonus Episode - Waverly Hills Sanatorium

https://www.therealwaverlyhills.com

Waverly Hills Sanatorium is well-known in the paranormal community as being one of the “most haunted places on Earth.” The Sanatorium dates back to 1883 when Major Thomas H. Hayes needed a school for his daughters to attend, so he started a one-room schoolhouse on Pages Lane in Louisville, Kentucky. The schoolhouse was named the “Waverly School,” and Major Hayes named the property “Waverly Hill.” Later, when the Board of Tuberculosis Hospital purchased the land and opened a clinic, they kept the Waverly name.

They began construction on the clinic in 1908, and it officially opened on July 26, 1910. The building was designed to accommodate 40-50 tuberculosis patients safely, and at the time, tuberculosis was a severe disease. People diagnosed with TB were isolated from the general public and placed in an area where they could rest and have plenty of fresh air. Sanatoriums were built on high hills surrounded by peaceful woods to create a serene atmosphere to help the patients recover.

TB was becoming an epidemic in Louisville, and the clinic was filled with more than 140 patients. Officials knew they needed a larger hospital and Sanatorium to treat many others impacted by the condition. Construction on the new Sanatorium began in March 1924, and it opened for business on October 20, 1926. Waverly Hills was a self-contained community – a city in and of itself, complete with its own zip code. It had its own post office and water treatment facility, grew its own fruits and vegetables, raised its own meat for slaughter, and maintained many other necessities of everyday life.

Today, the massive, collegiate, gothic-style Sanatorium remains standing on Waverly Hill. It once accommodated at least 400 + patients and was considered one of the most modern and well-equipped facilities at the time. The facility served as a tuberculosis hospital until 1961, when the discovery of an antibiotic that successfully treated and cured TB rendered the facility obsolete. It was closed down and quarantined, then renovated. In 1962, the building reopened as a nursing home that eventually became known as Woodhaven Medical Services, a geriatric (senior) facility. Woodhaven Medical was closed by the state in 1981.

Today, Waverly Hills Sanatorium is maintained and run by the Waverly Hills Historical Society, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization formed to save the building and promote the education of its history and its impact on the local community. The Historical Society now runs tours and investigations on-site at Waverly Hills to help raise funds to accommodate this goal.

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