River Oaks Place Senior Living Loudon

River Oaks Place Loudon was once the county’s old white elephant—but now it has a new life as an affordable senior living facility.

Constructed in 1936 and christened the Charles Bacon Loudon County Hospital after the businessman and philanthropist who donated the money to build it, this three-story building was the county’s main hospital until 1972. It was then replaced by an adjacent building (which became the Fort Sanders Loudon Medical Center) and converted to office space for 20 years. After that, the beautiful Georgian-style steel and masonry building was closed up and mothballed.

Dover Signature Properties acquired the building in 1998 and totally transformed it into a 40,000-square-foot assisted living facility specializing in treatment for memory loss and dementia. The new center opened in 1999; space was first added in 2009 and a new addition is currently under way. The center, which sits on a six-acre wooded hilltop, features magnificent views but is still quite close to the activity hub of Loudon’s historic district and the Loudon County Senior Center on Fort Loudoun Lake—also a Dover Signature Properties project.