In 1955 or 1961 — depending on whose records you believe — Hartford Hospital sold land on Cedar Mountain to Church Homes for construction of what a 1965 Courant article dubbed an “elderly colony.”
From 1902 to 1939, Hartford Hospital operated Wildwood Sanitorium on the grounds. This was the first tuberculosis ward in Connecticut, and in 1907, the only to have sections for “advanced cases” of TB. The location — miles from dense population — was ideal for the treatment of the time: fresh air and isolation from healthy folks. The number of patients and length of stays is hard to track, as record keeping did not always differentiate reasons for leaving. Were they discharged? Did patients get transferred to the hospital and die? At one time, the average length of stay was 116 days. At another point, residents fluctuated when a state-operated sanatorium, Cedarcrest, was opened on another part of Cedar Mountain. When Wildwood Sanitorium was closed and razed, it was because medicine opted to focus on prevention, rather than cure. Need for beds had decreased. Nearby Cedarcrest on 90+ acres was converted to a mental health and addiction facility in 1976; it closed in 2010.
Hartford Hospital bought the Wildwood Sanitorium property in 1926, though it was already a co-owner for some time, having been partially gifted the land in 1887. The previous owner, David Clark, apparently was a super-fan of Hartford Hospital. His farm, known as both “David Clark Farm” and “Wildwood Farm” had supplied Hartford Hospital with dairy and vegetables until 1931.
Today, the entirety of Avery Heights covers around fifty acres, with construction of these facilities beginning in 1961 or in the 1970s, depending on which sources you believe. A walking path with fitness equipment encircles the cottages. A small garden can be seen on site.
