Molly Stark Sanatorium is a decommissioned TB sanatorium on the grounds of Molly Stark Park in Louisville, Ohio. The Molly Stark Sanatorium’s notoriety continues to attract ghost hunters, and paranormal sleuths have invaded the sanatorium’s ruins.
Molly Stark Sanatorium is a decommissioned TB sanatorium on the grounds of Molly Stark Park in Louisville, Ohio. It was named after General John Stark’s wife and was one of 25 TB hospitals established in Ohio. Albert Thayer of New Castle, Pennsylvania, constructed the Molly Stark Sanatorium in the Spanish Revival style of architecture.
The Sanatorium has a one-of-a-kind patient housing system. Everyone who was entirely mobile was placed on the first level and allowed to tour the grounds. Those who were bedridden were sent to the top floor. In the 1970s, it was used to treat TB patients. Other services at Molly Stark Sanatorium included a mental health hospital and a drug and alcohol rehabilitation clinic.
The Works Progress Administration built roughly 1,200 linear feet of tunnels at the sanatorium in 1938. While the tunnels were primarily developed for utility infrastructure on site, they also provided an additional method of transportation between the different buildings on site, something the personnel definitely welcomed on cold and wet days.
After a $750,000 bond issue was authorized in 1952, architect Charles E. Firestone added the east and west wings. In 1956, Molly Stark Sanatorium was renamed Molly Stark [Mental] Hospital as the institution expanded to handle various diseases and medical problems. In 1970, the final TB patients were relocated to the nearby J.T. Nist nursing facility.
Molly Stark stayed in business, but things were looking bleak by the early 1990s. The hospital’s infrastructure had aged and required extensive renovation by this point to be considered in excellent functioning order. The hospital closed in 1995 due to deteriorating infrastructure.
Molly Stark has piqued the public’s curiosity due to its historical relevance and reports of hauntings. In 2008, a suspicious fire broke out in the main structure, and the abandoned TB hospital was so popular that 64 individuals were detained for trespassing in 2015. In 2015, an 8-foot barbed-wire fence was built around Molly Stark Sanatorium to keep curious visitors out.
Stark Parks bought the hospital grounds for one dollar in April 2009 and inaugurated the new Molly Stark Park as a publicly accessible county park on the former hospital site. There were hopes to turn the 35 acres into something in the future, but for the time being, the abandoned structures remain decaying.
The hospital group still has five abandoned buildings as of November 2022: the main hospital, children’s hospital, nursing house, superintendent’s apartment, and power plant. The Molly Stark Sanatorium’s notoriety continues to attract ghost hunters, and paranormal sleuths have invaded the sanatorium’s ruins.
