| City/Town: • Yukon |
| Location Class: • Hospital • Residential |
| Built: • 1950's | Abandoned: • February 28th, 2004 |
| Status: • Demolished |
| Photojournalist: • Michael Schwarz • Mary Evans |
Many in Yukon, Oklahoma passed around several rumors as to the actual identity of the place. Some said it’s an insane asylum; some said it was a church. Many thrill seekers claimed to know exactly what it was, but then again, they only went at night and assumed the worst. In reality, after digging through old files and asking the next-door neighbors, I found out it was Cottonwood Manor, a nursing home for people with mentally challenged and physical disabilities for Yukon’s community. Once the health officials came in to “check” on how things were going, they found no one had been tested for tuberculosis among many other health problems. It was also a home for mentally disabled children at one time.
In 2001, the facility faced heated press about 2 patients that were abused and problems were found with “internal patient security and failures to provide nutritional support for residents with severe weight loss.” as stated by Jim Killackey (Staff writer for the Daily Oklahoman.) As a result of this abuse, Cottonwood was threatened with closure.
“We’ll fight this – absolutely.” Administrator Barbara Baker stated. “Our history has been that if there’s a problem, we are going to fix it. Every nursing home in Oklahoma has had deficiencies. We are following the letter of the law in trying to correct things.” “One resident kicked another client in the leg and threw a cup of spit at another” according to the Health Department during inspection.
“The Health Department survey, conducted June 25-27, also found deficiencies including untreated bedsores and unaddressed weight losses, inappropriate diets for patients, a lack of proper staff training, poor dental care, and residents exposing their genitalia and breasts. Because Cottonwood Manor residents aren’t bedfast, discoveries of pressure sores on the hips and elbows of some residents were particularly disturbing, health agency officials said.”
For years after, the nursing home had been at a loss of more than $20,000/month along with $250,000/month in government financial support. As a result the announcement of it’s official closing soon followed as stated in The Oklahoman on February 28th, 2004.
Shortly after, every patient was moved to various other nursing homes, and Cottonwood was left alone with no hope. A couple of years later, a minister bought the property in hopes of renovating it for use as a church. He even posted a “Resurrection Life Church” sign on the outside of the abandoned building. Of course, nothing happened, and many people saw the “Church idea” as a scam more than anything else.
The building now sits in the middle of Yukon vandalized and covered in unwanted graffiti. Even though most today want to have a thrilling experience there every year, the true history will hopefully not be forgotten.
Article by Photojournalist: Michael Schwarz
Update 2015: Cottonwood Manor has been demolished by the city.
Gallery Below of Cottonwood Manor
Bibliography:
Killackey, Jim. “State Orders Nursing Home Closed in Canadian County.” The Daily Oklahoman, 10 July 2001.
Killackey, Jim. “Cottonwood Manor to Close Doors Due to Financial Woes.” The Daily Oklahoman, 28 Feb. 2004.
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My great aunt who was deaf and developmentally handicap, stayed there. She only stayed a short time. Soon after she moved in, she was able to get out during a snow storm. The found her face down frozen to death in the snow in someone’s yard.
I worked there right after getting my degree in special education. It was despicable the way they treated the residents. My husbands uncle lived there( wasn’t married at the time) and he was physically raped continuous basis by his roommate and NOTHING was done.
My brother-in-law purchased this place several years ago and had it demolished. I took a video walkthrough. It’s on my youtube channel Fried Okla
I remember when I visit the compound back in winter of 2004 how sad people decided to destroy for the pleasure. One of the rooms I seen had bad feeling it had lot of Christ pictures.
My grandmother was a laundry attendant there for 20 plus years. We used to trick or treat there every year as kids. My grandma loved all the residents and they loved her too. I remember her favorite was a sweet man med Butch. RIP Grandma Maudie
i ues to work there at cotton wood i got locked in the clocet fore 30 mins
That place was the 1st job i had back in the day…the residents were great…its not haunted!
It had been closed for almost 4 years by the time Katrina hit, people from Louisiana came to Oklahoma as refugees and they were going to use the facility, I volunteered to clean the building up before the families moved in.
Then the neighborhood started a petition to stop the families from staying there…just like they got the place closed down.
I worked there in the kitchen. It was an intensive care unit for the mentally handicapped. Hurricane Katrina did not hit it. It’s in the middle of Oklahoma. Most of the patients were moved to other facilities due to to many people. It was only made for about 75 clients but there were nearly 200 there.
It was a home for grown adults with mental ailments such as downs syndrome. Never for the “criminally insane” it was shut down after a community vote and lack of funding. Then after hurricane Katrina it was cleaned up for displaced families but the neighbors started a boycott for that also, fearing that the type of people staying there would rob/ be bad for the neighborhood. It’s tucked away near Kimball Park on Holly Ave.
I worked at cottonwood for a short time in 1993-1994. That is where I got my CNA however never got a certificate. Definitely not a haunted place just people with disabilities.
This building has been torn down by order of the city of yukon. I live in Yukon and noticed it was gone about a year ago.
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I worked here in the kitchen I was a dietary cook I prepared their meals it was a home for mentally challenged people and some of the residence use to go to a work shop I remember one of them use to come in every morning and help me gather their lunch bags I had prepared for them to take . I also remember some very sweet residence i am sad to hear how things ended . I loved working there . My mother , father and grandmother all worked their . I will never forget the lessons I learned while employed there
Cottonwood Manor Yukon, Oklahoma. 2016. Please kids don't go here if you plan to investigate for hauntings. My father worked here since until it was close and no he said it was not haunted one bit. There was no talk about ghost hauntings or anything around the staff. Every ghost story you hear are from people who don't work here and assume just because it's a hospital for the mental patients and disability doesn't mean it's guranteed haunted. If you stumble upon this page and read this, then I hope I save you time going there.
Just went there with friends to see if its scary and its bulldozed. The bulldozer is still out there with thr piles of rubble of thw building all around.
What is the address to this place ? I like to go check it out.
This building has been torn down by order of the city of yukon. I live in Yukon and noticed it was gone about a year ago.
I worked there when i was 17 around 1996
does anyone know who we can get permission from to investigate?
Does anyone know who owns Cottonwood Manor? Thanks
Does anyone know who owns Cottonwood Manor?
My mother worked there when it closed down. It didn't close for the reasons stated above.. A lady got out and drowned in a families pool across the street and they got in a lot of trouble then closed.
I worked at Cottonwood Manor from 1998-2000. I enjoyed myself during the time I was there & I have some great memories of that place as well as a few of the residents. I was sad when I heard that the place was closed down and the residents were moved to new homes.Some of those people had lived there alot of their life and wondered what happened to them. There was a couple of people that I got close to while I was there. Also the pictures of the building look terrible
As of this posting, the building is boarded up with locked gates and a for-sale sign out front. It is being sold through Sullivan group.
As of dec. 2, 2014
Read above for my input
If anyone has a idea of who to talk to to go inside to get permission so it be made legal please call me 4052450839 I mean no harm to the place just to walk around and see
I would contact the city and or the county and that information is public, you should be able to find out who owns this building and property now.
Who is the owner? How do we contact them about bieng able to visit?
I already knew that the place was for people with mental retardation because my dad worked there in the 90's and he told me a story about him working there and the water faucets would turn on all the time by themselves
By the way we didnt run the facility during that Health department inspection for tuberculosis. But I'm sure everybody at the Health Department has been checked for tuberculosis. It was just a reason to close it down in my opinion. but we were not there.
Anybody else can."
In continuence These are Gods Children and if there are entities there they didnt want to leave there home where the staff made them happy. But I doubt it because "God is taking care of the people better than anyone on earth could".
My Family owend the facility from 1974 till the late 90's. From our knowledge it was built in 1964. My father first purchased it in 1974 and was family owned and run til the 90". Its nice to hear some of the comments from former staff about the way we tried to enrich the peoples lifes. They are the ones that desirve the credit not the Propps Family cause your only as good as your staff. In the late 80's the state wanted to start MAINSTREAMING the residents that called this place home and move them into smaller housing with fewer numbers. OK idea but maybe not real practical for everyone there because some of the People that called this place home were severly disabiled. But nevertheless it was law that facilities like this one will be closed down reguardless of what the residence wanted. HAUNTED? Not to my knowledge! But it is sad the way the place looks today. While we owned the facility there were very few deaths and some residents lived there for decades and became part of our family.
Is it for sale. If so who I I need to contact would be cool as a big home
hi, i worked there just before it closed, 2003-2004. it was a nice place, i liked it there. now i could use some names, address and phone numbers for my new job hunting. i never kept up with anybody. or how could i get an verification about that i ever worked there? is there any administrating office there where i could direct references calls? My name is Maria Othman.
How can I find out more about the "pastor" who came in and bought the place as well as what "scam" it was?
Well I found out about the pastor and his scams by a many neighbors across the street from this location. To be honest I don't know names or dates… Sorry.
The street it's on is Walnut Ave, you turn off Holly Ave to get to it.
Hi, great web page however there is a issue whereby sometimes I am sent back to the base page whenever I view other topics in your website.
me and some freinds where just looking in the windows one day. we saw a figure run past the window. we started running becouse we got scared and while we where running back to the truck we heard large bangs frome the inside of the building right by the windows.
[…] Cottonwood Manor is another allegedly haunted location, one that holds different histories depending who you […]
I worked at Cottonwood in 1994. There was always a staffing shortage due to low pay and people freaking out about working with severely disabled people. Most of our people were either too medically fragile or behaviored to be mainstreamed but several were transferred to group homes while I was working there. I'm sorry to see the building abandoned but glad that the residents- many of whom were older and abandoned by family- gone to better living situations.
Cottonwood manor was first a nursing home for the elderly. I believe under a different name in the 50s. It was later a home for the developmentally disabled. I worked there for several years and know many others who also worked there. None of us have ever witnessed any supernatural activity and we all spent many dark stormy nights there.
I worked at Cottonwood from 92 until 99. I have many great memories of the place. I met my husband of 16 yrs there. It was my time at cottonwood that turned me into an advocate for the disabled community. I spent many nights there and never saw or heard anything. This place is far from haunted. I was kind of amused to hear it has became an urban legend in Yukon. It was a great place when the Propps family owned it, but went down very quickly after it was sold in the late 90s. I was glad to hear the doors were shut and these guys and gals were sent to great places, although it broke my heart to see the pictures of the building. Also, prior to being a home for the disabled, it was a nursing home for the elderly.
Do you still remember the address?
I know where it is if your trying to find it. I went there last night
Is there anyway someone could ask for permission to visit the manor? I'm a photographer and would love to take some pictures, but I wouldn't want to trespass for just a few photos.
Why would you want photos of a old run down building? It is not haunted. None of the staff has ever reported any supernatural activity there. I never witnessed anything in my years there. My husband worked there and my dear friend worked there 30 years. The purpose of photos should be to remind us of the way we once warehoused the disabled. I have loads of pics from cottonwood in its glory days.
Tabitha, would you mind sending some of your favorite photos to us? We would love to amend the post and add some historical photos! Info@abandonedok.com
I worked at Cottonwood Manor in the early 80's. I spent the next 30 years as an advocate for people with developmental disabilities because of my experiences there. Lots of fond memories but lots of haunting ones as well. I use stories from Cottonwood to help people understand the changes that have taken place over the years in the field of developmental disabilities. Your page was so interesting to find.
Does anyone know how to get ahold of the owners? Would love to explore it.
The building I believe has now been demolished.
I worked at CottonWood Manor back in 97-98 somewhere in there.. It wasn't haunted and I am sure still is not.. but I can surely see where someone would or could think that it was if they had not spent alot of time in there and knew exactly what and where the sounds came from.
If it's possible do you have a number for the Manor?
CottonWood Manor seems very interesting, the subject came to mind and I decided to ask my grandmother about it, to figure out she actually worked there, and she told me a various amount of stories from the old place.I drive by every once in a while, a few day's ago I saw something.. A doll maybe? Although I just let it pass. Very Cool to actually find the true history about CottonWood Manor.
I worked at Cottonwood Manor in 1966. Most of the mentally handicapped came from Enid State School. They were of varying degrees with the most severely retarded on the west wing. It was overwhelming at first just seeing them, but most everyone came to love the "children." They were very well treated.
In 1980 i was working for yukon furniture mart and we took a pick up load of tv's to the patients there. Neither my friend or i knew what to expect when we went in.. we checked in with the nurses desk and told them what we had to deliver and started bring the boxes of tv;s in.all of a sudden one of the patients saw me and started running down the hall toward me with out stretched arms.I saw him and said my god he's going to kill me as he came up and threw his arms around me. I later found out that when the patients would see new faces they would get excited like that thinking there was a new resident. That scared the devil out of me back then but after finding out what it was all about i under stood. Every time i think of it now i have a good laugh.
I lived on the street that dead ends at Cottonwood Manor, 24 years ago. And yes, the patients would sometimes wander away from the Manor, but were never a threat to neighbors. I remember the staff walking with groups, in single file, to the park across the street. We would speak to the patients as they passed our houses. They were all just a part of the neighborhood, and bring back found memories. My husband, at the time, was a police officer in Yukon, and had many stories to tell about the staff and patients! I love this website, and have found a couple of locations to comment on. Great work!
Where is this building? My husband and I tried to drive by it but couldn't find it based on this map. We have been talking about opening a childrens home and would like to find out who the current owner is.
This place is in pretty bad condition… I'm not sure but I'm pretty the owner does not want to sell… Could be wrong…
Its directly across from Kimbell Park, which is North of Vandament on Holly Ave. Turn down Walmut and you will hit it at the end.
Not sure when it opened, but I think it may have gone back into the early 60s or mid 50's. I went to school in Yukon, and graduated there in 78. It was there and running for as long as I can remember. I worked for the city of Yukon in the early 80s. Was an assistant to the City manager, and handled some city projects there at Cottonwood Manor. The patients were mostly very very low functioning mentally handicapped individuals. Ones that could not be mainstreamed. Mostly people that could not be cared for by family or people family didn't want. It was sad going there. They staff took good care of them, and it was a nice place, but it was sad because they all were just like little kids, even though they were young adults to very old people. Every time I went there, they patients would just flock to me and my companions. They would follow us around and try to hug us and hold on to us. I felt so sorry for them. I hate it that it was shut down. It did serve a good purpose, and it was in a nice location. Backed up to Cottonwood Creek with lots of trees and grass. Really a peaceful place as I recall.
While the place seemed relatively clean and well ran, she had a few stories about the mentally ill and disturbed people from time to time. Stories of odd and creepy things the patients would do to themselves and each other, sometimes they would escape and wonder neighboring streets and even invade homes and cause disturbance. I heard stories of shocking sexual things/physical harm and even some patients dying…The times I visited the place like I said it seemed clean, well kept and organized, it did have a sense of history and was eery and odd in ways I cant pinpoint….. I would like to see it cleaned up-repurposed and put back into service as something a little more wholesome for the good of town and the neighborhood its set in…….
I live in Yukon currently, went to high school here, born and raised here as are all generations of my family on both sides steeming back generations. I am in my 30's and consider myself a fairly normal person, I dont seem succeptable to ghostly or paranormal occurances. I believe 99% of the time things have a logical explanation- Now with all that stuff said in my late teens I dated a girl that worked at Cottonwood Manor for a couple of years. I would go visit her while she was at work more than a few times- I would talk with the patients and even go on field trips that she would take them on and I got a few impressions of the place and people. To be continued below…
I was a consultant there for a number of years. Too bad it went to the wayside. There is a need to handle the mental handicap resident. This place use to be very clean and "somewhat" orderly.
I grew up one block south of the nursing home and frequently walked by the building when going to town back in the '60s. My best friend hated when I dragged him past the place. We have talked about that for years. He still hates those memories. It is sad to see it in this condition and abandoned.
Wow the 60’s? What year did it open, do you know?