Exploring Georgia’s Creepiest Abandoned Hospital | The Jones Building Morgue at Central State

Overview & Construction
• The Jones Building was completed in 1928-1929. 
• It was built as a general medical-surgical hospital within the Central State Hospital campus. 
• It also served not just the mental health patients of Central State, but also the community: people of Milledgeville and surrounding areas used its services. 

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What the Building Contained: Functions & Features
• The building had operating rooms, wards for medical & surgical cases, an outpatient clinic, radiology/X-ray, clinical laboratory, and a morgue in the basement. 
• The morgue had drawers (body-coolers) sealed with iron doors. 
• Sterilization facilities: autoclaves or steam chambers for equipment, garments, etc. 

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Period of Use / Impact
• The Jones Building was used for about 50 years before being closed. It was permanently closed in 1979. 
• During its active years, thousands of people were born there. It was the only hospital in Milledgeville for a large stretch, so local births, surgical care, and general medical treatment happened there. 
• It served a wide variety of medical issues — from routine illness (“common colds”) to sophisticated surgery. 

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Decline & Abandonment
• After 1979, Jones Building was closed. 
• Over the decades, the building deteriorated. Roof damage, broken windows, nature reclaiming parts (vines, growth), structural decay. 
• The morgue, in particular, has had falling debris; it is sealed off by iron doors, but often flooded or covered with debris inside. 

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Significance & Current Status
• Architecturally and historically, Jones Building is significant — it’s one of the large buildings on a campus that was once among the world’s largest psychiatric institutions. 
• As of 2015, it was largely abandoned; few of the original medical services were being performed there, and many parts of the building unsafe. 
• There has been interest from the Central State Hospital Local Redevelopment Authority to preserve and possibly repurpose the building (and campus). 
• However, more recently (2023) there were orders signed authorizing the demolition of several buildings on campus, including Jones Building, due to safety issues and concerns about trespassing, decay, etc.