During its time as a hospital, Waverly Hills would sadly see many deaths. As the outbreak spread, the facility needed to be expanded and, in 1912, the larger building was built and patients from a number of surrounding hospitals were transferred to the facility. At the height of the tuberculosis epidemic, it is reported that one patient an hour died. img7.mynet.com They were buried by passing through the death tunnel. Room 502 has a reputation due to the two suicides that supposedly occurred there. It is made with concrete all around, which makes this tunnel of nightmares a very sturdy structure. Hills Memorial Research Group. Thank you! Contributed by Phil Tkacz, Shawn Logan, Jay Gravatte, & Hope Bryant | contact@kyhi.org. (A to D) Patients of W.H.S. This list is organized by date of death and not by name. Here are 9 things that make the death tunnel in Kentucky unique: The patients that passed on at Waverly were left at the end of the tunnel. The assumed number of total deaths at Waverly Hills sanitorium has been wildly inflated over the years; some have said the number is approximately 63,000. Even with the building of additional pavilions, space for patients was consistently at a minimal. This site More than half of those diagnosed with TB would die in three to five years. Consider supporting our work by becoming a member for as little as $5 a month. The administrators began taking the bodies through the hidden tunnel to hide the morbid evidence from the other tenants, earning the tunnel the nickname the body chute. Luckily this misery came to an end in the 1940s when a tuberculosis drug was introduced that drastically lowered the need for such a large facility. More Waverly Hills haunted history, after the jump. The Waverly Hills death tunnel actually was considered a sanctuary during an air raid and held enough space to fit everyone in the building safely. Locals place their offerings on this nightmarish gnarled tree so the witches won't summon another storm. The reasons for doing this may have been to keep from spreading disease once the body was brought back into town, and/or to make the body lighter. If you can correct us on anything we have posted, please do so. All information / names gathered from research and visitors will be added to the As it happens, one of his daughters needed to attend school, so he built a facility that would come to be called "Waverly School" by a teacher named Lizzie Lee Harris. Meet MasterChef Gordon Ramsays Children - Who are They? A new sanatorium opened on October 17, 1926 that could accommodate 400-500 patients. Over the next two years of construction, a two-story wooden administration building as well as two connected open air pavilions on either side, each housing 20 male and female patients were built at a cost of $25,000. There have been reported ghost sightings in Room 502 at the sanatorium, particularly the ghost of a nurse in uniform. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waverly_Hills_Sanatorium, http://paranormal.about.com/od/hauntedplaces/ig/World-s-Most-Haunted-Place/Waverly-Hills-Sanatorium.htm, http://practicalwanderlust.com/2016/09/louisville-kentucky-a-locals-guide-to-visiting-fall.html. The area known today as Waverly Hill was purchased by Major Thomas H. Hays in 1883 as the Hays family home. Upon death, he fell asleep as we hope in the arms of his savior.1. Without cookies your experience may not be seamless. can not be used in any means without written persmission from the owner of the media. Its believed that, at one point, he hospital was tending to as many as 140 patients. The statue would have been based on the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, only 20 feet taller. They do this through offering tours, am annual haunted house held on the main buildings first floor, as well hosting private events in the restored laundry room. & Historical Research GroupAll files, pictures, video, E.V.P., articles, trademarks; etc. This former tuberculosis treatment facility now stands at the center of a public park. The numbers are hard to believe, however. Other accounts tell of ghostly appearances by a little girl named Mary and a little boy named Bobby in other areas of the hospital. The video above is the movies trailer posted by YouTube Movies & Shows. A total of 63,000 people lost their lives up until 1961, the year when the hospital was closed. To be honest, it is very much a B flick at best. When the visit was over, the visitors left Waverly and ventured back out into the community. These dead patients were taken to the burial site through the tunnels known as the 490-foot (150-meter Death Tunnel), one of the most famous parts of the hospital. Are they real, or arent they, that is the question? The second e was dropped at some point.). The first Waverly Hills Sanatorium building opened on July 26, 1910. Neither story is documented, but neither is completely discounted. However, many people owe their lives to the care they received at Waverly Hills. The tunnel was the subject of the 2005 movie The Death Tunnel. . Of course, Waverly Hills Sanatorium is one of the most popular abandoned places in Kentucky, but there are many abandoned places peppered around the state that would send a shiver up anyones spine like the Red Bridge on Devils Hollow Road near Frankfort. A childrens pavilion was also built to house not only young victims of the disease, but also children whose parents were too ill to care for them. When the plans fell through due to funding problems, Alberhasky, upset that the remaining building was protected by the Historical Register, tried to have the building condemned. Trellix. The official estimates were admitted at more than 60,000 individuals died from TB or some of the questionable treatments utilized as attempted cures for the ailment. The Historical Society and the family that owns the property hold fundraising events throughout the year. If left untreated, the bacteria would begin to eat away at the lungs and could spread throughout the body -- consuming it. The sanatorium was established in the early 20th century to help deal with an outbreak of the then-incurable disease tuberculosis. Some have reported seeing shapes near the window in room 502 and even a voice saying, Get out.. In 1883, Major Thomas Hercules Hays, who had served in the Confederate army during the Civil War and fought at the. The owner (Tina) and a security guard say theyve seen lights turn on in this room while they were outside. This calm grassy field was once a Superfund site full of thousands of nasty chemicals. Construction on this building began in 1908 and opened for business on July 26, 1910. Follow us on Twitter to get the latest on the world's hidden wonders. 2023 Atlas Obscura. Some of the names were difficult if not impossible to read. In 1873, Agatha Logan Marshall wrote matter-of-factly to her brother-in-law Thomas W. Bullitt about her recent diagnosis of consumption and her concerns about her future well-being and economic security: Dr Bush made an examination of my lungs and told me they were very seriously involveda fact I have known all alongof course I am in no immediate danger for consumption is a lingering disease but I have no hope or expectation of ever being well again and I am very anxious if possible to have my little prosperity so it will yield me an income. Marshall aptly characterized consumption as a lingering disease, one in which symptoms could come and go and progress slowly over years. It was also a disease that could end in a painful death. Located on the south end of Jefferson County and now in the city limits of Louisville, Kentucky, the building, with its distinctive tower, was designed by D. X. Murphy and opened in 1926, adding four hundred additional beds to Waverly Hills facilities for tuberculosis patients. A chute was built to aid in disposing dead bodies in such a way that the sick did not have to see them leaving. It had its own post office, water treatment facility, grew its own fruits and vegetables, raised its own meat for slaughter, and maintained many of the other necessities of everyday life. Its said that the state shut it down due to reports of improper care and physical abuse of the elderly patients there. A childrens pavilion was built in 1916 that housed 40 children and included a schoolroom. Charlie claims John told him he was one of the people who found the nurse and confirmed that there had been a lot of blood and a baby -- and that because it was so taboo at the time, the death wouldnt have been recorded. Sanatoriums were built on high hills surrounded by peaceful woods to create a serene atmosphere to help the patients recover. The TV show Ghost Hunters did a program on Waverly Hills in March of 2006. You can imagine what follows. Major Hays was in need of a school for his daughters to attend, so he started a one-room schoolhouse that was located on Pages Lane. Every state in the country has its fair share of haunted locations, and Kentucky is no different. Offer available only in the U.S. (including Puerto Rico). Something for everyone interested in hair, makeup, style, and body positivity. The assumed number of total deaths at Waverly Hills sanitorium has been wildly inflated over the years; some have said the number is approximately 63,000. Please now use the Bobby Nichols Golf Course Gate entrance at 4400 Paralee Drive off of East Pages Lane. Last, a rich variety of records from the early and mid-twentieth centuryincluding pamphlets, photographs, letters, and architectural recordshelp document the history of Waverly Hills Sanatorium from the perspective of administrators and some of the employees and patients who lived there. The two TB sanatoriums were open for a total of 51 years, which means that 3 to 4 people would have died every single day. It opened as a 40 room hospital and they found that they needed to add on very quickly. The second purpose was to protect those who had to transport the dead to the pickup spot to be laid to rest. The building is host to ghost hunters from all over the globe. There are a few abandoned tunnels in Kentucky, but none have quite the reputation of the notorious Waverly Hills Death Tunnel on 4400 Paralee Lane in Louisville. Then, the tuberculosis epidemic began to spread in Jefferson County, and the hospital could not keep up. There are two legends concerning the room: a nurse committed suicide by jumping out the window, and a nurse who hanged herself in room 502 because she was single and pregnant. The statue, which was inspired by the famedstatue of Christ onCorcovadoMountain inRio de Janeiro, would have been designed by local Louisville sculptorEd Hamiltonand architect Jasper Ward. However it wouldnt be until 1949 when Streptomycin would be available to the patients at Waverly Hills. Photographs, text, illustrations and all other media not authored by KHI belong to their respective authors/owners/copyright holders and are used here for educational purposes only under Title 17 U.S. Code 107. Fewer than 5% of patients initially survived. Get more stories delivered right to your email. The Waverly Hills Death Tunnel. Ain (01) Allier (03) Ardche (07) Cantal (15) Drme (26) As the state of the patients worsened, people began to die in the facility on an almost-daily basis. (The myth was further spread by Tina. Waverly Hills Sanatorium in Louisville opened in 1910 to accommodate tuberculosis patients. Not much was known scientifically about tuberculosis at that point -- but it was clearly very contagious, and it was common practice to quarantine TB patients away from the population. var tlxLastPublishedDate = null; var now = new Date(); var edited = (tlxLastPublishedDate != null) ? In mechanical drawings from 1924 and 1962, however, this room is labeled the Transformer Room, and it clearly appears to be an electrical room. The tunnels main purpose was to protect the morale of other patients. Eventually Hays property was chosen for several reasons; its distance from the city, its picturesque tranquil view, as well as its high altitude with increased air flow. tlxLastPublishedDate.toLocaleString() : now.toLocaleString(); document.write("Last updated on " + edited); WHS Memorial Website would like give a warm and heartfeltthanks toall the wonderful people who've His plan was to turn the main hospital building into a minimum-security prison for state use. We now have a patient death index for patients that died at Waverly Hills starting in 1911. Very little of this part of Waverly has fallen down, and the structure itself is still safe. Built in 1910 to combat tuberculosis, the 180,000 sqft, deeply haunted Waverly Hills Sanatorium has seen thousands of deaths and many ghosts. Even with many new procedures available, it was impossible to save everyone. The first phase of the development, coming in at a cost of $4 million, would have been a constructing the 150 foot tell statue, to be situated on the roof of the sanatorium. Waverly Hills Memorial I love writing, art, sunshine, all animals and my incredibly patient husband, who tolerates my "crazy animal lady" side. People who were afflicted with Tuberculosis were isolated from the general public and placed in an area where they could rest, stay calm, and have plenty of fresh air. Construction on the second hospital was underway in March 1924. History It was the workers that would be detached to gather the bodies of the dead and either burn, bury, or transport them elsewhere. If you can correct us on anything we have posted, please do so. A private tour of the death tunnel is available by appointment. & Historical Research GroupAll files, pictures, video, E.V.P., articles, trademarks; etc. At the same time they also reveal stark racial disparities in mortality rates and institutional treatment. Search, watch, and cook every single Tasty recipe and video ever - all in one place! We do not have access to records of any patients from Waverly Hills and we cannot accommodate any requests at this time. Self care and ideas to help you live a healthier, happier life. In 1962 the hospital was purchased by the state and used as a nursing home. Because Tuberculosis was so extremely contagious and at epidemic proportions, those living with it could not be allowed to live and exist among the general population. In the first few years of possession, the Mattinglys removed the asbestos and replaced 100 broken windows. The Midwestern United States' tribute to Michelangelo is a foam statue sprayed with gaudy gold paint. Four years later, in 1932, some say another nurse jumped to her death from the 5th floor patio near Room 502. It was thought that doing so would close up the small holes that tuberculosis causes. The following year, most of the land on which the buildings sat were auctioned off, and the main hospital building, several remaining facilities, as well as 40 acres were purchased by Simpsonville developer J. Clifford Todd, at a cost of $3,000,5,000. BUT, according to Patti Starr in her book. In the nineteenth century, tuberculosis killed as many as one in seven people in the United States. Waverly Hills is one of the most fascinating buildings to be found that stores within its wallsmany horrible and pain filled memories of a time where it seemed to continuously consume 100s of lives. No purchase necessary. The massive, collegiate, gothic style Sanatorium that you see in the 1926 photo (above) remains standing on Waverly Hill, today. Powered by www.tripod.com & The search began for a proper location to constructed the much needed facility. This is an active project so check back often for updates. Waverly Hills Historical Society is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation and restoration of Waverly Hills Sanatorium, the history of its past employees and patients, as well as the education of the public of the history of TB and the effect on the area. After the geriatric center closed down, various owners considered turning the building into a number of things, including a jail and. What makes this tunnel in Kentucky stand out from the others?
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