Here’s an interesting video I stumbled across while digging for info on the place.Īs much as I like old buildings, I can only imagine some of the horrors people endured within those walls. The lady admitted that many locals believe the place is haunted. Others, knowing the history of the place, just want to tear it down.
#Dejarnette sanitarium staunton va full
Some folks want to restore the place, but it’s full of asbestos and clean-up would cost a fortune. Read this bit of history and I bet you’ll agree it was probably just as horrible as one can imagine it to have been.Īpparently it’s been abandoned for quite some time. While certainly a non-PC description, it seems an appropriate title for a very creepy looking place. “Yes,” she replied, “that’s the old mental hospital for children.” “You know those old, abandoned, brick buildings on the other side of the interstate?”
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“There is something you might be able to help with,” I said. When the lady at the counter said, “Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help you,” I had an idea.
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I still had a few minutes to spare, so I stopped in a Virginia souvenirs gift shop. Instead, I added it to my mental list of places-that-would-be-nice-to-visit and moved on. I did finally come to the museum at the end of the long drive, housed in a typical, up-to-date, museum-looking building, but I didn’t have time to visit. I don’t claim to have second sight or anything, but there’s definitely a feeling of foreboding about the place. Not that I would have gotten out had it NOT been broad daylight, mind you. Since it was broad daylight, and the place was surrounded by “State Property, No Trespassing” signs, I just stayed in my vehicle. I couldn’t help but think of places like Pennsylvania’s Pennhurst Asylum. And the buildings looked creepier and creepier the closer I got. The driveway was definitely leading me toward the museum, but it was going around the old buildings. So, finding myself with a little bit of spare time on Saturday, I turned in for a closer look. Who can resist frontier culture and cool, old buildings? There’s a innocuous-sounding label - DeJarnette Center - on Google Maps, and there’s a sign near the driveway, which appears to lead to this complex, announcing the Frontier Culture Museum of Virginia. They sit just west of the intersection of I-81 and US-250 on the outskirts of town. The last time I was in Staunton, Virginia, these buildings caught my eye.