The old Olney Sanitarium was razed in 1957. It was a place of both tragedy and joy for those who were admitted there. Among those who were committed for psychiatric reasons, a “demented” Mrs. Lola Hough jumped from a third floor window and died from her injuries. Yet many babies were born at the medical facility and successful, life-saving surgeries were performed there.
Before Dr. George T. Weber purchased the building in 1898, it was the Arlington Hotel, known as the finest hotel in the area. The building stood as a landmark for more than 100 years before the Richland Memorial Hospital was built and the antiquated and obsolete sanitarium closed in 1953 and was demolished four years later. A parking lot was built in its place.
