Waverly Park History

WAVERLY PARK
Let me introduce you to Waverly Park; one of Louisville’s best keep secrets! Most commonly known
for its “allegedly” haunted sanatorium, Waverly has more to offer than just an eerie old
hospital. Waverly Park is 300 acres of beautiful woodlands, along with a 9-Hole Golf Course named
for Louisville golf legend Bobby Nichols, as well as a 4.4 acre fishing lake, a fishing dock, hiking and
mountain bike trails, a playground, bathrooms, dog park, shelters, grills, and serene picnic areas.

Waverly Park is located along Waverly Park Road off Arnoldtown Road and Clayton Terrace in the
Waverly Hills neighborhood. This southwest neighborhood sits atop a hill along the east boundary of
Dixie Highway at Pages Lane. Until the 1990’s, the area remained largely rural and heavily forested,
but has since been developed with many upscale subdivisions, and is now one of the most affluent
areas of Louisville’s South End.
Records indicate that the land was originally owned by Major Thomas H. Hays, a Hardin County
native, lawyer and Civil War veteran. Hays purchased the land currently known as Waverly Hills in
1883. He had a school built on the land to educate his eight daughters and hired Lizzie Lee Harris as
the teacher. Ms. Harris loved the writings of Sir Walter Scott.

Scott’s first novel, published in 1814,
was titled Waverley, and subsequent
novels became collectively known
as the Waverley Novels.
Ms. Harris loved the writings so much
that she named the school Waverley
School. Major Hays liked the name
as well, and he named his entire
property Waverley Hills. Somewhere
along the line, the spelling was
changed from “Waverley” to
“Waverly”.
In response to a growing tuberculosis
epidemic, the Anti-Tuberculosis
Association was formed in Louisville
in 1906 and headed up by Judge
Robert Worth Bingham. Two years
later, the association had
incorporated as the Louisville
Tuberculosis Association and
construction of a hospital began on
land purchased from Major Hays. It
was completed in 1910, and the
Louisville Tuberculosis Association
chose to retain the name “Waverly
Hills.” For more than 50 years, the
Waverly Hills Sanatorium operated
as a Tuberculosis Hospital, and
closed in 1961.
A letter dated February 16, 1963,
from Charlie Vettiner, then
Superintendent of the Jefferson
County Playground and Recreation
Board, to his fellow board members
talked about the proposed new
park at Waverly Hills as part of the
new Chain of Rainbow Parks. Mr.
Vettiner indicated that the Jefferson
County Board of Health already
owned 273 acres there, and that the
board should ask Fiscal Court to
purchase an adjacent 29 acres
known as the Joseph Kessler
property, that was being sold by
Kessler’s heirs. The Louisville and
Jefferson County Board of Health
purchased the land for $13,500 on
January 28, 1965, and it became
known as Waverly Park.

Over the past few years, Waverly Park has had been
the beneficiary of several upgrades including a new
fishing dock, parking lot, pavilion, new spillway
bridge, dog run and restrooms.
In addition, Waverly Park has received many
upgrades most notably are the new sustainable
trails! The Kentucky Mountain Bike Association
(KyMBA) continues to work closely with Louisville
Parks and Recreation on a new bike trail segment to
increase the current Mountain Bike Loop from a 6.4
mile moderately trafficked loop trail to roughly a 10-
mile loop. KyMBA works closely with our Natural
Areas’ Division to help maintain the park;
specifically, the bike trails.
Go Visit Waverly Park… it’s