Staunton, VA - abandoned asylums

[mattbellphoto]

no idea.

i'm curious, though.

 

[mattbellphoto]

Anyone go by there lately?

 

[keithwms]

It's boarded up. Still some possibilities though. I like what the surrounding vines etc. are doing. I'd be happy to accompany someone there. Actually there is one shot that I want (need) to complete my series and I really need someone else to help out. It's very simple but not something I can do on my own.

 

[BONEDADDY]

dejarnette is now closed up tight.

An official word about the facility. they have boarded up every window in every building so you can't get in anymore. And also chain linked around the main entrances. I was just there this afternoon, and was going to sneek in, but there is no way to anymore. What a shame, I didn't do this a couple years ago when I had the chance then. I really like Staunton and the old hospitals.

 

[mattbellphoto]

That's a shame, but really good to know.

Thanks for the heads up.

 

[BONEDADDY]

My father owned a funeral home for which I worked in my younger days and he and I still run a graveyard to this day. I've never got spooked by anything to do with the dead, until today. I walked through the Western States no name graveyard, and got a cold chill from being in there. Something about a graveyard full of stones and no names or numbers, just isn't right. That was the strangest feeling I've ever had. I felt like I was staring into the mouth of hell or something. very weird, especially for me. Staunton, though is a photographers playground. Beautiful gothic homes and Victorian architecture. I just wish the weather had been better, overcast. I hope to spend a day there and a night , as I enjoy night photography, sometime in the spring. Matt nice to meet you, Matthew Thacker here, or Bonedaddy to my friends. I enjoyed your photos of Dejarnette, very nice work.

 

[thespkid]

Although it's boarded up, can you still get access through the frontier center to the grounds around Dejarnette?

 

[mattbellphoto]

My understanding, based on comments here and elsewhere, is that it is no longer accessible. period.

it was recently purchased from the state of VA and will be torn down or converted into commercial space sometime in the near future. the new owners re-boarded-up the windows and entrances, and built a new fence. it is only accessible through breaking-and-entering, which is inadvisable.

this is all based on second-hand info, as i haven't visited since late June '09. it was once a no-risk (short of injury) photo excursion. but now i would assume it's watched more closely and not easily entered/explored.

 

[archangelabove]

Here's an update to those of you wondering.

I visited Dejarnette about a month ago. We parked at the nearby Lowe's store, and crossed the street to the grounds of Dejarnette. The grounds are NOT fenced in, and you can walk right up to certain parts of the building (The main entrance has a gate and fence).

As of a month ago, every single entry point that we could find, was boarded up. According to staff at the museum down the street, the building has asbestos.

They have not started to demolish it or anything yet.

We spent a good two hours trying to figure out a way in. No sign of police or anything, and s long as you're not wearing bright colors or flashing your flashlight everywhere, there is NO way anybody would see you out there.

But, like I said, everything is boarded up. We tried slamming concrete blocks against the wood to try and break in, but the wood is mounted very good and I think it is thick. We considered buying a crowbar, or bringing an axe to bust down some of the wood, but, we don't like the idea of having 1 entry/exit point, in case cops showed up.

We are going to try again in a month or so. The place looks really cool. It's very eerie, especially when considering what all has happened in there. The grounds are spooky.

To anybody who might want to visit: Park at Lowes. Walk across the street to the huge field, where the hospital sits. We all wore dark colors, and we amde sure we were invisible. I stayed behind at first to see if the others could be seen from the road or nearby gas station. No. You are invisible. So don't worry about that.

Your only worry is getting inside. Let me know if you find a good way to get in

 

[keithwms]

If I were you ^^^ I would not mention this online, frankly. It could get you in legal trouble. I would strongly advise editing your comments to place everything in the hypothetical subjunctive!

The story on why they won't let people in is that there is a fair amount of asbestos in there. It is very dusty and such in there and the security gentleman I spoke with said they never de-asbestified it, and he would only go in with a respirator. He looked me in the eye and very sincerely begged me not to risk my health. I said thanks and what about a waiver, he said forget it, they'd have too many people signing a waiver and then what about all the lung cancer.... So I didn't press the issue.

Just do not risk your health for interior shots, trust me it's not worth it.

 

[mattbellphoto]

Recent (digital) photos of the former Dejarnette children's asylum/hospital, taken by a Flickr member, Deep Creeker:



It looks like it's been boarded-up pretty damn tight.

 

[WhiteBox]

Hey, I know Dejarnette is totally off limits now basically, but I was wondering if you had any tips for Western State? 3 friends and I are planning to head up from Roanoke on Monday to do some photography, and we know it's not that difficult to get into, but any advice would be great.

 

[Poisson Du Jour]

If I were you ^^^ I would not mention this online, frankly. It could get you in legal trouble. I would strongly advise editing your comments to place everything in the hypothetical subjunctive!

A—a—a... hypo—what!?
Sire, go easy on the Proust please!

And—do I read correctly, somebody wants to barge into an asbestos-riddled building just for some photographs?
Do you know that just brief exposure to stirred asbestos dust can have profoundly serious consequences? How does acute asbestiosis sound?
In Australia, people have died from this poisoning from both very long and very short exposure. So I can only repeat what others have said and that is to respect the legal standing of the building's current state and stay well away from asbestos. It is a death wish.

 

[mattbellphoto]

I'm not dead yet..

Hey, I know Dejarnette is totally off limits now basically, but I was wondering if you had any tips for Western State? 3 friends and I are planning to head up from Roanoke on Monday to do some photography, and we know it's not that difficult to get into, but any advice would be great.

Be careful. That's about all I can advise.

These buildings are not forgotten nor derelict. People live in some. So, tread lightly, if at all..

 

[leatherlady]

Haunted?


I am also drawn to Staunton VA. I often stay over night on my trip from Pa. to NC. I found Dejarnette Center while gasing up at Sheetz. and thought cool place to investigate and photog but it was boarded up, traveling alone and not having bail money with me I decided to stay away. I found the above link and this site while doing a Goggle search of Staunton VA. Take if for what it's worth. If you do get in you may get a little extra in your photo's!
Sue B.

 

[Deep Creeker]

I went through DeJarnette just before it was boarded up. After reading the comments on the walls I left infested with ghosts. The place is really scary; one expects Nurse Rached to appear from the asbestos dust at any time. I wouldn't advise a visit, but I noticed the usual door down by the bioler building is open again...

 

[Deep Creeker]

Here's another part of the DeJarnette story discovered by accident: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/f...fn=joseph&GSiman=1&GScid=52569&GRid=33089671&

 

[mattbellphoto]

Wow. I knew he was a proponent of Eugenics, but I never realized until now how far he took the concept. Yikes.

 

[keithwms]

My favourite piece of graffiti from the photographs that I took there: "Joseph Dejarnette was impotent." I don't know whether it was true but it was an amusing find, nonetheless!

Another scary modern-day proponent of eugenics in the US was William Shockley, Nobel prizewinner and arguably the founder of silicon valley.

 

[WillHawkqtPie]

I just wanted to say that the the photos of the asylum are beautiful. I was born in Staunton in 1983 and was raised learning about the two buildings and many others. My father acutally used to work at the Jail/asylum in the dowtown part of Staunton when he was in his early to mid 30's (he is currently 60ish). My mother grew up in Stuanton and went to the old high school across from the large park, which is being changed over to something else (I think an old folks home or a company is ripping it down and building something new). It is nice to see beautiful photos of those buildings that have always scared me as a child. Thanks!

 

[mattbellphoto]

Thank you. And thank you for the building update.

I haven't been up that way in a few years. Last I heard (through this thread and comments on some of my Flickr photos), the children's asylum was finally bought buy a developer and was going to be turned into commercial space(s).
I'm disappointed it's being razed for new construction, but not surprised. It sits on prime real-estate, atop a hill, directly visible from the interstate. And is probably too costly to re-purpose vs tearing-down and building something new.. And I guess it must not be listed on any state/national historic building registries due to its controversial nature(?)..

As far as the adult asylum/hospital/prison near downtown, it's turning into really nice apartments/condos. At least a few of the buildings have been finished. But renovation construction came to a halt due to the condo units not selling well enough (surprise surprise). Some of the buildings further back from the main road may still "abandoned" and might be accessible (but I have no real idea at this point).

I haven't checked the condos' site in a while either (can't remember the name/URL, too lazy to search the thread), but I think 'stage 3' of its building/reconstruction was to be where the asylum/hospital/prison's cemetery is located.. Always, thought that'd be a pretty funny selling point, "Oh by-the-way, the land you're $250k+ condo sits on used to be the resting place of dozens/hundreds of dead and forgotten mentally/emotionally-ill folk marked only by cold unmarked gravestones before we ripped them out of the ground/built over top of them.. So.. uh, sleep well tonight.."

 

[mattbellphoto]

"[The former Dejarnette Children's Asylum] is still standing as of May 19, 2012, but impossible to breach without breaking or damaging anything."
-Amelie deSade (via Flickr)

 

[GabbeMarie]

its illegal. The cop caught a ton of my friends there. The back door is usually open..

 

[mattbellphoto]

Dejarnette ghost tours

To anyone in the area: There will be Ghost Tours around the Dejarnette Asylum/former Western State Hospital every Saturday in October 2012.

Haunts of the Dejarnette Sanatorium
Walking Ghost Tour
Presented by The Ghosts of Staunton and Black Raven Paranormal
Saturday October 20th and 27th, 4:00pm-5:30pm (dusk)
$15 adults, $10 children 6-12

Reservations are encouraged, and can be made by calling:
540-448-2743 or 540-448-1806

http://www.ghostsofstaunton.com/dejarnette.html


Just found out about this through a comment on one of my Dejarnette images on Flickr.

Original text from commenter, vasuthernboy:

I live about ten minutes from Staunton. The Dejarnette was only a childrens asylum in it's later years. It was the original Western State mental hospital and is named after it's owner. A friend of mine is heading ghost tours there which started last week and will be for the next couple of weeks on Saturdays at 4pm for a 90 minute walking tour. You can Google info on it which is how I stumbled onto to your page. Great pics by the way! The other building your talking about is now a partially finished set of condos. It was part of Western State also and was then turned into a prison. They were maxed out and it wasn't worth renovation so they built a new and bigger one. I was in parts of it before it sold and changed and new a couple of guys that were Gaurds there...they had some crazy stories!!

 

[Wheel67]

i was commited there.. lol