Spring Oak Senior Living Community - Elks Home (formerly The Elks National Home) is a retirement home and national historic district located at Bedford, Virginia.
Spring Oak Senior Living | |
 | |
   | |
| Location | 931 Ashland Ave., Bedford, Virginia |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 37°20′34″N 79°32′06″W / 37.34289°N 79.53498°W |
| Area | 100 acres (40 ha) |
| Built | 1916 |
| Architect | Ottenheimer Stern & Reichert; Clinton & Russell; Clark & Crowe |
| Architectural style | Colonial Revival, Mediterranean Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 08000479[1] |
| VLR No. | 141-0060 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | May 29, 2008 |
| Designated VLR | March 20, 2008[2] |
History
editThe Elks National Home was built in 1916 by the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, who first started the home in 1903. The Elks National Home historic district includes twenty-three contributing buildings, three contributing sites, a contributing structure, and two contributing objects.[3]
The Elks Home was featured briefly in the 1991 film What About Bob?, where it stands in as a mental institution.[4]
Its 100-acre (40 ha) property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008.[1]
Incident
editIn November 1923 the facility was the site of an accidental mass poisoning. Nine men were killed after drinking apple cider served in the dining room. A local farmer had produced the drink and stored it in a barrel that had been used to hold a pesticide.[5]
In 2013, the Elks National Home property was sold to New River Assisted Living for $4.5 million. The name of the property was changed to English Meadows Elks Home.[6]
Modern uses
editThe Elks Home is popular locally for the large display of Christmas decorations it puts up each year. Visitors enter the driveway in their vehicles and slowly proceed through the displays, which line the driveway, free of charge.
Elks National Home and Retirement Center is the name of a nonprofit organization with 501(c)(3) status that formerly owned the Elks National Home property.[7] The nonprofit organization has discontinued operations as of 2019, and its continuing source of revenue are the bequests of an ongoing trust, and the nonprofit organization intends to discontinue operations as soon as practical.[8]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
- ^ "Virginia Landmarks Register". Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Archived from the original on September 21, 2013. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
- ^ J. Daniel Pezzoni (December 2007). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Elks National Home" (PDF). and Accompanying four photos
- ^ Causey, Anne Patterson; Blackwell, Mary Alice (2005). Virginia's Blue Ridge. Globe Pequot. ISBN 9780762734603.
- ^ "VA Poisoned Cider Kills Nine at Elks Home". New York Times. November 12, 1923. Archived from the original on October 1, 2020. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
- ^ "Sale of Elks National Home in Bedford announced". Retrieved September 6, 2016.
- ^ "Elks National and Retirement Center". Tax Exempt Organization Search. Internal Revenue Service. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
- ^ "Form 990: Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax". Elks National Home and Retirement Center. Internal Revenue Service. May 31, 2019.