Woodrow Wilson General Hospital

The U.S. Army, needing stateside medical facilities during World War II, broke ground for Woodrow Wilson General Hospital here in June 1942. Named for the former U.S. president born in nearby Staunton, the hospital consisted of about 135 single-story brick buildings with 2.5 miles of sheltered walkways. In June 1943, the first of more than 4,000 sick and wounded military personnel arrived by train. The complex was declared surplus in 1946, and the Commonwealth of Virginia repurposed part of it in 1947 as the nation's first state-owned comprehensive rehabilitation facility for disabled individuals. The rest of the complex became part of the Augusta County public school system.