Celebrating 60 Years

Celebrating

60 Years

words Methodist Village Senior Living

Methodist Village Senior Living (MVSL) celebrates their great heritage of 60 years of caring for elders! Located on Wildcat Mountain, the MVSL property was previously the site of a Works Progress Administration (WPA) project for housing transient workers during the Depression years. The WPA erected veranda type barracks with porches for the workers and white stone pillars at the entrance. Now the intersection of 74th Street and Euper Lane, the pillars are all that remain of the original WPA construction.

The need for housing transient workers began to decrease in the late 1930’s and the Arkansas tuberculosis sanatorium in Booneville had the need for more beds. In January 1937, the board of control of the state tuberculosis sanatorium recommended that it ‘take over and operate Wildcat Mountain.’ In March 1937, forty-three patients arrived and soon the Wildcat Mountain Sanatorium was filled to capacity at one hundred patients. Census in the sanatorium declined in the 1950’s as treatment became available for tuberculosis and the Wildcat Mountain annex closed its doors in December 1958.

In the 1950’s major changes occurred in the care and housing of the elderly and the government began providing funds to build custodial units to house those who needed long periods of ‘recovery’ when leaving the hospital. Long-term care facilities were created to provide a place for acute long-term care. In 1959, the land which previously housed transient workers, and then a tuberculosis sanitorium, was donated to the city for the purpose of building a longterm care facility. Members of the North Arkansas Conference of the Methodist Church met to discuss the development of Methodist Nursing Home. The matter was brought before a district conference and a campaign was organized and trustees elected. Funds in the amount of $300,000 were raised in the city and from churches in the area to begin building the project.

Opening its doors in March of 1961, Methodist Nursing Home was equipped with a skilled care unit that had thirty-three beds. The North Arkansas Conference of the Methodist Church transferred ownership of the 30-acre property to Methodist Nursing Home of Fort Smith, Inc. in February of 1963. The skilled care unit (Care Center) has now grown to 145 beds. In 1974, apartments were built to provide affordable independent living. In 2019, they expanded their mission to encompass assisted living and memory care with the opening of a forty-five room Assisted Living/Alzheimer’s Special Care Unit which has now grown to seventy-one beds.

As part of their 60th Anniversary celebration, MVSL will feature a social media campaign to raise $60k in 60 days for their 60th year and “Legacy of Faith – Vision for the Future” Capital Campaign! For more information on how you can help, visit methodistvillage.com.