The U.S. Army broke ground here in June 1942 for Woodrow Wilson General Hospital to provide stateside medical facilities during World War II. Named for the former U.S. president born in nearby Staunton, the hospital consisted of about 135 single-story brick buildings with 2.5 miles of sheltered walkways. In June 1943, the first of more than 4,000 sick and wounded military personnel arrived by train. The complex was declared surplus in 1946, and in 1947 the Commonwealth of Virginia repurposed part of it as the nation's first state-owned comprehensive rehabilitation facility for disabled individuals, while the rest became part of the Augusta County public school system.