Waverly Hills Sanatorium

Historical Summary

Waverly Hills Sanatorium emerged during the early twentieth century as a response to the widespread tuberculosis epidemic, commonly referred to as the “White Plague”, that severely affected Jefferson County and much of the United States. The property originally belonged to Major Thomas H. Hays in the late nineteenth century; however, the site was repurposed in the early 1900s when public health authorities sought a remote and elevated location suitable for the isolation and treatment of contagious disease. The first sanatorium structures opened in 1910 as modest wooden facilities designed to house a small number of tuberculosis patients under treatment regimes emphasizing fresh air, sunlight, rest, and nutrition, which were considered best practices prior to the development of effective antibiotics. As the tuberculosis crisis intensified, the complex expanded rapidly. By the 1910s, additional pavilions, children’s wards, and temporary treatment tents were erected to accommodate growing patient populations. The increasing demand for beds and the deterioration of early wooden buildings prompted the construction of a more substantial medical complex beginning in 1924. The resulting five-story structure, completed in October 1926, was one of the largest and most technologically advanced tuberculosis hospitals of its era, capable of housing more than four hundred patients and incorporating architectural features designed to maximize airflow, sunlight exposure, and isolation central principles in contemporary tuberculosis care. Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, Waverly Hills functioned as a self-contained medical community, equipped with its own infrastructure and services to minimize outside contact due to the highly contagious nature of the disease. Treatment methods ranged from open-air therapy and strict bed rest to invasive surgical procedures aimed at controlling pulmonary infection. The facility played a significant role in regional public health efforts, reflecting broader national strategies for combating tuberculosis before the advent of modern pharmacological interventions. The introduction of the antibiotic streptomycin in the 1940s dramatically reduced tuberculosis mortality rates and gradually diminished the need for large sanatoria. As patient numbers declined, Waverly Hills’ operations were scaled back, and the institution officially closed as a tuberculosis hospital in 1961. The building was subsequently repurposed in 1962 as the Woodhaven Geriatric Center, a nursing facility for elderly and chronically ill patients, though it eventually closed in 1980 amid reports of overcrowding and neglect.