Historical Markers
Medical ward with bunk beds and patients - historic hospital buildings

Self-guided · County in West Virginia

Historic Hospital Buildings in McDowell County, WV

Old hospitals, sanitariums and infirmaries on the register near you, some converted, a few still treating patients.

Photo: Navy Medicine on Unsplash

McDowell County is one of 55 counties in West Virginia. Some of these sites are open to visitors, some are private, and some are ruins. All of them are on the record, and all of them can be seen from the public way.

On the record near McDowell County, WV

The 12 nearest

12 listed sites on the record match historic hospital buildings within 120 miles of McDowell County, WV, out of 31 listed sites of every kind within 25 miles. 17 listed sites carry McDowell County as their county.

  1. Henrietta Dismukes Hospital Nurses Home8.8 miles from the center of McDowell County · Building · Kimball · listed 2026National Register of Historic Places
  2. Smyth County Community Hospital38 miles from the center of McDowell County · Building · Marion · listed 2015National Register of Historic Places
  3. Southwestern State Hospital Tubercular Building39 miles from the center of McDowell County · Building · Marion · listed 2023National Register of Historic Places
  4. Henderson Building, Southwestern State Hospital39 miles from the center of McDowell County · Building · Marion · listed 1990National Register of Historic Places
  5. St. Albans Hospital62 miles from the center of McDowell County · Building · Radford · listed 2020National Register of Historic Places
  6. Ashe County Memorial Hospital68 miles from the center of McDowell County · Building · Jefferson · listed 2015National Register of Historic Places
  7. Barnett Hospital and Nursing School83 miles from the center of McDowell County · Building · Huntington · listed 2009National Register of Historic Places
  8. Hugh Chatham Memorial Hospital, (former)90 miles from the center of McDowell County · Building · Elkin · listed 2002National Register of Historic Places
  9. Former Elkin Hospital91 miles from the center of McDowell County · Building · Elkin · listed 2000National Register of Historic Places
  10. Burrell Memorial Hospital94 miles from the center of McDowell County · Building · Roanoke (Independent City) · listed 2003National Register of Historic Places
  11. Ohio Hospital For Epileptics Stone Water Towers103 miles from the center of McDowell County · Building · Gallipolis · listed 1978National Register of Historic Places
  12. Gilmer County Poor Farm Infirmary117 miles from the center of McDowell County · Building · Glenville · listed 1998National Register of Historic Places

Distances are straight-line from the center of McDowell County, WV. Many sites are private property or working buildings - view them from the public way. See them on the map.

Hospital Buildings in McDowell County, step by step

  1. 1

    See every listed site of this kind in the area

  2. 2

    Sort by distance and pick the closest few

  3. 3

    Read the record for the year, the builder and the use

  4. 4

    View from the public way and note what has changed

  5. 5

    Collect the set and move on to the next county

What people in McDowell County, WV ask first

How much does it cost to visit these sites in McDowell County, WV?

Most listed sites can be seen from a public road or sidewalk at no cost, and the app is free to use. Some sites are private homes, working churches or museums with their own hours and fees. The record for each one says what it is, so you know before you go.

Where does the information on these sites come from?

From published records: the National Register of Historic Places, the Recorded Texas Historic Landmark program, and the Georgia Historical Society and Georgia Department of Natural Resources marker program. Every site on the page names its source.

Are these buildings open to the public?

Some are, many are not. Churches, courthouses and libraries usually keep regular hours. Houses, barns and mills are often private and best seen from the road. The record for each site tells you which kind it is.

What does it mean when a site is on the National Register?

It means the property was documented and accepted as historically significant. Listing honors the site, it does not open it to visitors or stop an owner from using it.

How a visit works in McDowell County

  1. Step 1

    Find the place

    Every stop starts as a pin with real coordinates. In McDowell County, WV the map shows what is listed around you and how far each one is, so the first decision is where to go, and it takes a few seconds.

  2. Step 2

    Read the story

    The record behind each marker is kept whole: what happened there, when, who was involved, and why it was worth a sign. You read it standing where it happened, which is the part a textbook cannot give you.

  3. Step 3

    Get there under your own power

    Walk it, run it, hike it, ride it or drive it. Stops in McDowell County, WV are chained into routes that fit the way you move, so a lunch break, a long run or a Saturday drive can all pass through history.

  4. Step 4

    Collect it and come back

    Each stop you reach counts toward a badge, and a photo or a correction you send makes the record better for the next person. The map remembers where you have been, so the next trip starts where the last one ended.

The rules that make it work

The record comes first

Every site on these pages comes from a published register or marker program, with its source named. Nothing is listed that is not on the record.

Read the whole story

A marker is a few lines on a post. The story behind it is longer, and it includes the hard parts. Both are worth the stop.

Movement makes it stick

People remember the places they walked to. A route through five markers teaches more than fifty marker pages read on a couch.

Local beats famous

The marker two streets over usually has a better story than the one in the guidebook, and nobody else is standing in front of it.

Respect the ground

Many sites are private homes, working churches or cemeteries. View from the public way, follow posted hours, and leave it as you found it.

Every visitor can improve it

Markers go missing, get moved, or carry mistakes. A photo or a location fix from the person standing there is how the record stays right.

More ways in around McDowell County, WV

Hospital Buildings near McDowell County

Hospital Buildings everywhere in the US · Every way in