Spring Oak Senior Living Community - Elks Home (formerly The Elks National Home) is a

retirement home A retirement home – sometimes called an old people's home or old age home, although ''old people's home'' can also refer to a nursing home – is a multi-residence housing facility intended for the elderly. Typically, each person or couple in ...

and national historic district located at

Bedford, Virginia Bedford is an incorporated town and former independent city located within Bedford County in the U.S. state of Virginia. It serves as the county seat of Bedford County. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,657. It is part of the Lynchbur ...

History

The Elks National Home was built in 1916 by the

Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (BPOE; also often known as the Elks Lodge or simply The Elks) is an American fraternal order founded in 1868, originally as a social club in New York City. History The Elks began in 1868 as a soci ...

, who first started the home in 1903. The Elks National Home historic district includes twenty-three contributing buildings, three contributing sites, a contributing structure, and two contributing objects. an
''Accompanying four photos''
/ref> The Elks Home was featured briefly in the 1991 film ''

What About Bob? ''What About Bob?'' is a 1991 American black comedy film directed by Frank Oz and starring Bill Murray and Richard Dreyfuss. Murray plays Bob Wiley, a troubled patient who follows his self-centered psychotherapist Dr. Leo Marvin (Dreyfuss) o ...

'', where it stands in as a mental institution. Its property was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 2008. In November 1923 the facility was the site of an accidental mass poisoning. Nine men were killed after drinking apple cider served in the dining room. A local farmer had produced the drink and stored it in a barrel that had been used to hold a pesticide. In 2013, the Elks National Home property was sold to New River Assisted Living for $4.5 million. The name of the property was changed to English Meadows Elks Home.

Modern uses

The Elks Home is popular locally for the large display of

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

decorations it puts up each year. Visitors enter the driveway in their vehicles and slowly proceed through the displays, which line the driveway, free of charge. Elks National Home and Retirement Center is the name of a

nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

with 501(c)(3) status that formerly owned the Elks National Home property.Elks National and Retirement Center
. ''Tax Exempt Organization Search''. Internal Revenue Service. Retrieved March 14, 2020. The nonprofit organization has discontinued operations as of 2019, and its continuing source of revenue are the bequests of an ongoing trust, and the nonprofit organization intends to discontinue operations as soon as practical.Form 990: Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax
. ''Elks National Home and Retirement Center''. Internal Revenue Service. May 31, 2019.

References

External links

*
Elks National Home, 931 Ashland Avenue, Bedford, Bedford City, VA
at the

Historic American Buildings Survey Heritage Documentation Programs (HDP) is a division of the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) responsible for administering the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), Historic American Engineering Record (HAER), and Historic American Landscapes ...

(HABS) Residential buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia National Register of Historic Places in Bedford, Virginia Colonial Revival architecture in Virginia Residential buildings completed in 1916 Elks buildings Clubhouses in Virginia Retirement communities in the United States Historic American Buildings Survey in Virginia 1916 establishments in Virginia {{BedfordCityVA-NRHP-stub

History

Modern uses

See also

References

External links