On a steep hillside along 4th Street in Maysville Kentucky, there was once a private school for girls known as the Hayswood Seminary. But for most of its existence, this campus has been a hospital. Now abandoned by the living, there are many who believe that the spirits of some former staff and patients remain.
Hayswood Hospital, in Maysville, Ky, was one of the most unique and historical hospitals in Kentucky. It served as a healing ground for the sick, the dying, and every possible accident or tragedy you could think of. Sadly, it closed its doors in March of 1983.
The main wooden building was built around 1842 by Dr. Joseph Taylor. The Hayswood Female Seminary occupied the building and offered education in the arts, as well as, traditional subjects. Rev. Hays died in 1899 at the age of 67. However, the school continued in operation until 1907.
On August 8, 1907, “Hayswood” as it was informally known was auctioned for $6,200 and sold to widow Mrs. May V. Peale Wilson, who promptly deeded the property to a trust in order to open a town hospital. The Wilson Infirmary, operated by May Peale Wilson, was Maysville’s first hospital. It closed shortly after Wilson’s death in 1908 and the structure was later razed. Construction began on its replacement, the Hayswood Seminary, in 1915.
The city took control of the hospital and saw it through an extensive renovation in 1925. Samuel Hannaford designed a brick building and added a 4th story due to anticipated volume. The building was expanded in 1925 and 1971 to accommodate 87 patients. However, technological progress in the medical field and a growing city meant that the healthcare facilities at Hayswood hospital began to fall behind those of other, more modern hospitals. There was just no room for expansion of the building.. In 1981, the hospital was sold to the Nashville company Hospital Corporation of America, which ran it as the Maysville Hospital until February 9, 1983.
The hospital, abandoned and decaying, changed hands several times. First in 1994 for $42,000 to Ester Johnson of Classic Properties. In 1999, Johnson announced plans to renovate the complex into apartments but financial considerations caused the project to languish. Johnson attempted to sell Hayswood to the city for $55,000 in 2000, but the city declined the offer based upon the estimated $1 million that was required to remediate the property.
On March 22, 2013, Tax Ease Lien Serving was granted an order by Judge Stockton Wood to auction Hayswood during a Master Commissioner’s sale on April 26. Tax Ease Lien Servicing paid roughly $6,000 for the property in 2013. Still, the hospital sat abandoned but became a regular location for thrill seekers and paranormal enthusiasts. Hayswood was sold to Stitch Up Properties of Brandenburg for $50,000 in June 2018. 14 The building was boarded up in October in preparations for potential renovations.
