As soon as you get off highway 81 in Staunton the DeJarnette Center (formerly known as the DeJarnette Sanitorium or Asylum) are some of the first buildings you’ll see. The architecture of the buildings was designed in part by Thomas Blackburn, a protege of Thomas Jefferson. These architecturally amazing buildings sit on the property of The Frontier Culture Museum. The building were the premises of the adolescent psychiatric hospital until the early 1970s, then transitioned into The Commonwealth Center for Children & Adolescents and moved locations in 1996. Controversy seems to surround the decision over what should be done with the buildings because of DeJarnette’s controversial practice of involuntary sterilization that went on at this location.
Asbestos signs are placed around the property to ward off trespassers, but I’m not sure how much good the signs do. Looking through archives the buildings seem to be badly vandalized on the inside with bullet holes and spray paint. I’d like to see the property turned into some type of museum because of the beauty of the structures. There are several blogs and articles about the property but I couldn’t find any links to current plans for the structures. Right now (as of Sunday July 12th) two small bobcats sit in the front of the property and there are piles of brush that have been cleared. WHSV reported that The Department of General Services has provided the financial means to clear away heavy shrubbery and debris from the front of the buildings (the overgrowth has built up over the past 15 years.) After the clearing has taken place, the structure will be boarded up to prevent break-ins, white boards will be used to cover the windows to maintain the aesthetic beauty of the building.
I’m glad that The Department of General Services seems to be stepping up and making some changes to the property since The Hook reported in July of 2006 that The Virginia Department of General Services would have the final say in whether DeJarnette is demolished (according to spokesperson Susan Pollard.)
What do you think should happen to these historic buildings?
{ 18 comments… read them below or add one }
I’ve always been so intrigued by this place. One of my friends had special permission to do a photo shoot there, but that’s the only other person I’ve known to mention it. I hope it becomes something cool so we can check out the inside!
Are you crazy? Have you not seen a movie in the last 30 years? If we, as a society, can learn anything from Hollywood (and we can learn a lot), it’s that we should never ever ever ever have anything to do with old creepy abandoned mental asylums. Especially not ones for children.
Here’s an idea: Maybe, you know, just as a joke, me and several friends (many of whom happen to be young, attractive and promiscuous) will go camp out there for a night. We’ll break in, create a campfire, drink some beer and generally disrespect the facility in an effort to prove to each other that we aren’t scared. Maybe I’ll even lock one of my friends in an old room to freak her out a bit. If one of us goes missing, we’ll all agree the best course of action will be to split up to look for him. If one of us notices a quiet, vacant looking child standing at the end of a dark hallway, we’ll assume it is a neighborhood kid that has become lost and would like us to lead her on search for her missing mother. It will be a night full of excitement, adventure and exploring. In the morning, we’ll all walk out and upload the pictures we took to Facebook. Who wants to go with me?
Can anyone tell me what the old building is that is on the hill in from of the current commonwealth center location? I gathered that it is not the original sit of either western state or comm. center. So, what was it?
dejarnette…i went there when i was a teenager.i didnt know the history of it.theres all kinds of videos on youtube about it.i didnt know there was a morgue in there.i was in the perry building.with the caged porch.they had these heavy ass chairs on there i guess so you couldnt throw them at people.i remember going into the quiet room.ive seen a few people i knew from there.i guess you make your own ay in life but like me they were told they were different they were crazy so most are either in prison or on drugs.sad.i used to sit on the proch and watch the groundhogs that was cool.they shouldnt tear it down they should make it into a muesum and fix it up…get the community together…
Laurie, That’s interesting, I did see the cagelike metal surrounding the porch, I bet it wasn’t very enjoyable to sit outside when you still felt confined. I’m glad you don’t feel like they should tear the buildings down. I wonder how bad the asbestos is in the buildings because I know that getting the asbestos out would be the expensive part of the renovation.
The building is falling apart. All the windows are boarded up now and it looks nice. But seriously, someone should write a script about the place, make it into a big budget horror movie like the ring or something, get some up and coming teen actors to star in it, kill off a couple, just make it into the typical horror flic. staunton could really use the publicity it would bring to the town, with the possibility of a secqual. Otherwise, the old thing is gonna sit there for another 10 years or so with nothing being done about it.
I agree the exterior of the building is amazing. I would however imaging the inside is very utilitarian. Much like similar buildings of its kind. There are other structures the residents of Staunton should invest time and money into rather than this creepy old building.
Thomas Blackburn is my GGGG Grandfather. I am trying to get as much info I can on him. I have been searching for a pic of him for 8 years. If anyone knows anyone who is related to Thomas Rolander Blackburn who would like to get in touch with me please have them e-mail me at nettech_00@yahoo.com Thanks
i love this building and i know that is weird to say but it is so intresting.I have seen a few movies about Asylums and i found them kinda freak but i love scary stuff.And i am in love with scary stuff.
I’ve been in DeJarnette recently in the past year. The place is haunted…VERY HAUNTED!! If Ihad the money I would buy the place, open it up and renovate it the way Waverly Hills Sanitorium did.
wud have 2 agree with laure radaz i went there as a teenager didnt know it had a morgue but it shount b torn down
Does anyone know if the Dejarnette adult or childrens center is still available for people to go into? In other words, is the public still allowed to go into these buildings? Or are they all completely closed off?
@kayla They’re completely closed up and bored off. The buildings contain asbestos so it’s dangerous to go into the buildings.
I’m curious if there is any hope if getting inside…I’m would like to do a photoshoot.
Since I’m in Roanoke if anyone could give me any info that would be great
The adult Dejarnette center has been converted into condos mainly. You can look them up-they’re called the villages. I’m sure anyone could get inside… it would probably require sneaking in though.
Has anyone ever contacted “Ghost Hunters” about this place? When we passed by it on our way out of VA into NC, I got some definite haunted vibes from it….very creepy, a feeling of sadness and desperation, and this was before I knew what it was. I googled Augusta County and found the historical society and wrote them on June 28, they wrote back June 29th and sent me this link.
I agree with Jesse. I just saw it for the first time recently and it amazed me and gave me the creeps at the same time. It would be a wonderful spot for a movie, perhaps a true story based on it’s past. It might bring in some money for restoration or reuse but it definitely has a story to tell! I knew immediately that it was a hospital or asylum at one time or another. It’s definitely worth further thought!
I swear there has already been a “Ghost Hunters” type show on the deJarnette sanitorium. I just returned from a trip between GA and MD, stopping for a bite to eat in Staunton. The moment I saw these two buildings I knew I had seen them before. I pulled the car over and told my daughter that I knew this had been a place for kids who had been placed there due to mental illness and/or for behavior control. I saw some tv show more than a year ago about it where they locked themselves into the building(s) at night in the hopes of attracting the ghosts that haunt it. I remember that the story told of children abused and possibly killed — there is some kind of graveyard on the property with small unmarked headstones. The tv show spoke of the magnificent stature of the buildings (they are beautiful, even though boarded up) as well as some kind of recreation on the property — maybe tennis courts or a pool or something? I remember they spoke of the fact that young people there not knowing what happened to friends of theirs who just disappeared. As I said, I instantaneously knew what those buildings were the moment I saw them. There is a nearby Burger King where we stopped and I saw an older man eating by himself and asked him what the two buildings were. When he said they were a “sanitorium for children earlier in the century” I about jumped out of my skin. He then pointed to the new sanitorium which are a group of buildings across Hwy 81 on another hill. He said he’d never heard of any tv show that did a ghost story on the buildings — seemed totally unconcerned about it if there were any ghosts. I’ve been Googling my brains out today trying to figure out which tv show that was. There is no way I could have known all that information about this place without ever having been near it before.