The land that is today known as Waverly Hill was purchased by Major Thomas H. Hays in 1883 as the Hays' family home. Since the new home was far away from any existing schools, Mr. Hays decided to open a local school for his daughters to attend. He started a one-room schoolhouse on Pages Lane and hired Lizzie Lee Harris as the teacher. Due to Miss Harris' fondness for Walter Scott's Waverley novels, she named the schoolhouse Waverley School. Major Hays liked the peaceful-sounding name, so he named his property Waverley Hill. The Board of Tuberculosis Hospital kept the name when they bought the land and opened the sanatorium. It is not known exactly when the spelling changed to exclude the second "e" and became Waverly Hills. However the spelling fluctuated between both spellings many times over the years.
In the early 20th century, Jefferson County was severely stricken with an outbreak of tuberculosis. There were many tuberculosis cases in Louisville at the time because of all the swampland, which was perfect for the tuberculosis bacteria. To try to contain the disease, a two-story wooden sanatorium was opened which consisted of an administrative/main building and two open air pavilions, each housing 20 patients, for the treatment of "early cases".
"In the early part of 1911, the city of Louisville began to make preparations to build a new Louisville City Hospital, and the hospital commissioners decided in their plans that there would be no provision made in the new City Hospital for the admission of pulmonary tuberculosis, and the Board of Tuberculosis Hospital was given $25,000 to erect a hospital for the care of advanced cases of pulmonary tuberculosis". On August 31, 1912, all tuberculosis patients from the City Hospital were relocated to temporary quarters in tents on the grounds of Waverly Hills pending the completion of a hospital for advanced cases. In December 1912 a hospital for advanced cases opened for the treatment of another 40 patients. In 1914 a children’s pavilion added another 50 beds making the known “capacity” around 130 patients. The children's pavilion was not only for sick children but also for the children of tuberculosis patients who could not be cared for properly otherwise. This report also mentions that the goal was to add a new building each year to continually grow so there may have even been more beds available than specifically listed.
The building was reopened in 1962 as Woodhaven Geriatric Center, a nursing home. Primarily treating aging patients with various stages of dementia and mobility limits, as well as the severely mentally handicapped. Woodhaven was closed by the state in 1982 allegedly due to patient neglect, as is sometimes common in these environments of under staffed and overcrowded institutions. Rumors later inaccurately termed Woodhaven as an insane asylum lending to many urban legends.
A tunnel was constructed at the same time as the main building beginning on the first floor and traveling 500 feet (150 m) to the bottom of the hill. One side had steps to allow workers to enter and exit the hospital without having to walk a dangerous, steep hill. The other side had a set of rails and a cart powered by a motorized cable system so that supplies could easily be transported to the top. Air ducts leading from the roof of the tunnel to above ground level were incorporated every hundred feet to let in light and fresh air.
As antibiotics had not been discovered when Waverly opened, treatment consisted of heat lamps, fresh air, high spirits, and reassurances of an eventual full recovery. Once tuberculosis hit its peak, deaths were occurring about one every other day. The sight of the dead being taken away in view of patients was not good for morale which plummeted, causing them to lose hope or the will to live and become depressed, which only contributed more to the death rate. With deaths occurring at such a high rate, the tunnel took on another use, and when patients died, the bodies were placed on the cart and lowered to the bottom where a hearse would be waiting to take them away discreetly, out of patient view, saving morale.The doctors also thought this would combat the disease and keep it from spreading.
-courtesy wiki
::history doc::
::layout::
Waverly Hills Sanatorium layout by Floor | ||||
First Floor Lobby (covered with multiple graffiti) Morgue Maintenance office Dentist Library Solarium with patient rooms Medical labs X- ray and dark room One Nurse's station Salon/ Barber shop Entrance to beginning of the Body Shute Breaker and transformer rooms Cold rooms for food Old electric potato pealer
| Second Floor Chapel Two Nurse's stations Kitchen could feed over 500 people at a single seating Dining room usually seated 328 people, but could expand to 448 people Small dining room Minor surgery room Solarium Patients' rooms Small kitchen | Third Floor Minor surgery room Small dining hall Small kitchen Two Nurse's stations Occupational Therapy Solarium Patients' rooms | Fourth Floor Two Nurse's Stations Waiting Room Major Surgery Room with adjacent room Recovery Room Small Kitchen Small Dining Hall Solarium Patients' Room | Fifth Floor Heliotherapy or therapy with sun light Small kitchen Room 520 Children's playground Bell tower Small kitchen
Basement Access to Laundry Building Elevator Maintenance Pipe Maintenance |
floorplans for first floor
