Morris Memorial Hospital for Crippled Children

The Morris Memorial Hospital for Crippled Children is a historic medical center in Milton, West Virginia. The facility was built in phases from 1936 to 1941 by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) for children stricken with polio. It is being renovated into a resort.







History

The vision for a hospital for disabled children in western West Virginia came to local farmer Walter T. Morris as his great-nephew, John Morris, suffered from osteomyelitis. 1 After John Morris received treatment from Dr. Shade Jones, director of the Huntington Orthopedic Hospital, Walter Morris deeded his farm on the outskirts of Milton in 1930 so that a facility for the treatment and care of disabled children could be built. 3 The Huntington Orthopedic Hospital formed the Morris Memorial Hospital for Crippled Children and used Morris’ house as the main hospital, although it quickly outgrew the small quarters. 1

The hospital grounds were deeded to the town of Milton so that the hospital could quality for construction funding by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) on August 27, 1935. 1 Milton’s mayor, Albert Field, applied for and received WPA assistance. (The city then leased the property to the hospital on September 29, 1936. 1 4) Frampton & Bowers of Huntington, who had earlier designed the Huntington Orthopedic Hospital, was selected as the architectural firm for the new hospital. 1

On July 5, 1936, a local Masonic fraternity led by Grand Master Wilson U.S. White laid the cornerstone for the future hospital, and construction began shortly thereafter on the main two-story administration building. 2 4 Work on the “Y”-shaped wings did not begin until 1937, followed by the erection of the boiler house and incinerator in 1938 and 1940. 1

The completed Morris Memorial Hospital, crafted with a cut limestone exterior, consisted of a central two-story section with a domed and louvered cupola and a two-story portico, and 1½-story “Y”-shaped wings. 1 Initially, the wings featured narrow metal casement doors leading from an exterior concrete terrace to a patient’s room. The hospital included five wards—two for females, two for males, and one that served as an isolation ward. Additionally, there were 32 private rooms. Two additional wards were considered but never constructed.

The east wing included two gable wings that housed the therapy room with weights and a whirlpool, and a large room with two brine pools and a spring-fed pool, along with an x-ray department, operating rooms, and a laboratory. 1 A “T”-shaped wing from the east side featured a two-room school and a 2,000 volume library.

Morris Memorial Hospital was largely self-sufficient. 1 In addition to the hospital, the property featured a large dairy barn that housed up to 30 milk cows, 85 acres for pasture, and a 25-acre orchard and garden. Surplus items that were raised were sold for income. 5

Closure and Reuse

Morris Memorial Hospital served a number of patients that suffered from polio but patient numbers dramatically declined after a vaccine was developed in 1955. 6 It closed as a children’s hospital in 1960 after treating nearly 10,000 patients. In 1961, the city of Milton, which had owned by the site, leased the property to John and Rose Greene who reused the site as the Morris Memorial Nursing Home. 1

Citing low patient numbers, high energy costs, and deferred maintenance, the Morris Memorial Nursing Home closed in February 2009. 7

The city of Milton announced that they were partnering with developer Jeff Hoops to rehabilitate the former nursing home into the Grand Patrician Resort & Spa, a 100-room hotel with extended-stay suites. 8 Amenities would include an indoor and outdoor swimming pool, a grand ballroom and conference center, a 250-seat wedding chapel, gymnasium, medical clinic, and physical rehabilitation center, restaurant, par-three nine-hole golf course, stables and horse trails, amphitheater, and soccer, baseball and softball fields. Townhomes would also be built upon some of the site’s 189 acres. The development plans for the site were later modified to include a 50-unit retirement home in the former hospital, the relocation of the planned hotel, swimming pool, fitness center, conference rooms, and an outdoor wedding chapel to another portion of the property, and the construction of 80 condominiums, 22 single-family home lots, and 26 duplex units. 9 10

Light demolition work and asbestos abatement began in May 2018, 9 and construction of the Grand Patrician Resort & Country Club began in late October. 8 Construction was slowed because of the COVID-19 pandemic and supply chain issues, along with delays after waiting for approval on a new four-lane roadway and interchange with Interstate 64. 11

By September 2022, $25.7 million had been expended on the first phase of development, which will include: 11

  • A 1.2-mile walking trail with exercise machines set to open by October 2022;
  • A new four-lane access road and bridge by May 2023;
  • A 110-unit hotel, 300-seat restaurant, and 50,000 square feet of meeting space by August 2023;
  • A 500-seat ballroom and convention space by September 2023;
  • A 45,000 square-foot country club with a gymnasium, running track, spa, and Olympic-sized swimming pool by October 2023;
  • A 300-seat chapel and dining area for weddings by 2024;
  • A par 3 golf course; and
  • 320 single-family residences with an average asking price of $325,000.

The second phase will add a 5,000-seat coliseum with an additional 200 hotel rooms. 11



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Further Reading

  1. Grand Patrician Resort & Spa

Sources

  1. United States. Dept. of the Interior. Morris Memorial Home for Crippled Children. Comp. Jean Boger. Washington: National Park Service, Dec. 2012. West Virginia Division of Culture and History. Web. 12 Dec. 2015. Article.
  2. Cornerstone.
  3. Morris Memorial Hospital for Crippled Children, Milton, West Virginia. Unpublished pamphlet, 1945. Print.
  4. Murphy, Charles B. History of Milton, 1876-1976. Berkeley Printing (Milton, W.Va.), 1975. Print.
  5. Huffstutler, Barry. “Morris Memorial Hospital.” Doors to the Past. Web. 12 Dec. 2015. Article.
  6. Dudley, Caldwell. History of Milton Community. West Virginia University Agricultural Extension Division, 1960. Print.
  7. Hardiman, Jean Tarbett. “Morris Memorial to Close, City of Milton Seeks Ideas for Property.” Herald-Dispatch 7 Feb. 2009. Web.
  8. Hammonds, Dalton and Chad Hedrick. “Multi-million dollar hotel project in Milton to get underway in late October.” WSAZ, 12 Oct. 2017.
  9. Pace, Fred. “Site work underway at former hospital in Milton.” Herald-Dispatch, 15 May 2018.
  10. Stuck, Taylor. “Grand Patrician Resort in Milton continues to grow.” Herald-Dispatch [Huntington], 1 Nov. 2019.
  11. Horsley, McKenna. “Cabell County Commission hears update on Milton resort project.” Herald-Dispatch [Huntington], 25 Sept. 2022.

13 Comments

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I was a patient there in 40’s due to polio it was great place got great care, I remember a man name Don Jenkins came there show us movies serve pop corn like going to movies . Hope they restore this amazing land mark I wouldn’t be able to walk today if it wasn’t for this hospital !

Just returned from a visit to Milton and saw this structure for the first time – never had heard of it’s existence. The locals said there was a walking trail everybody used there and it would be okay to go look around as long as I didn’t enter the facility. I read the history on my cell phone, then parked and walked the perimeter of the facility and was horrified at the state it has been allowed to fall into. Most windows and doors were broken and wide open for anyone to walk right on in. It’s state of decay makes me question how this could be on the Register of Historic places and be in the state it’s in without anybody questioning it. This is so typical of West Virginia, a poor state, that takes even poorer care of historic landmarks. This facility is just an empty shell as it stands now. I did take pictures of it’s neglect and devastation – maybe someone out there will care when they see them.

Hi, my name is Carla Goff and i am 16 years old and i’m from Huntington, WV. Me and a friend were driving around Milton one day and we seen the hospital, we got out and took a couple pictures and we were trying to find a way to tour it. I was just wondering if you have toured the hospital. Or if you knew someone we could get a hold of to let us go in and take pictures.

How would one see about getting a grant to restore this amazing landmark and allow the public to tour it? How could a person purchase this place?

Contact the Cabell County Assesor to see who owns the property then approach them about selling. Foundation for the TriState out of Huntington/Ashland is a great nonprofit that helps with grant writing

I was treated for polio here in 1953-54, when I was 4 years old. I loved Don Jenkins! He and the Rotary (from Huntington, I think) took me (and a number of other polio victims) to Virginia Beach for a wonderful train trip and exciting week at the beach! I have numerous memories of my time spent at Morris Memorial while being totally paralyzed and in an iron lung. I eventually learned to walk again. I am glad there was such a hospital so close to Point Pleasant, WV.

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