Hospitals of Chillicothe
STILL
UNDER CONSTRUCTION
UNDER CONSTRUCTION
1888 The Sisters of St. Mary arrived in Chillicothe and opened St. Mary’s Hospital on east 11th Street, a large frame building funded by local donations from people of all denominations.
1916 When the Sisters of St. Mary left Chillicothe, Dr. H.M. Grace and Dr. Arthur J. Simpson bought the St. Mary’s hospital building and incorporated it as Chillicothe Hospital.
1917 Mr. and Mrs. Charles Kohlman and others formed a new company and purchased the twenty-room W.H. Mansur home on South Locust Street where they opened a hospital always known as The New Hospital. For the next ten years, Chillicothe had two competing hospitals--Chillicothe Hospital and The New Hospital.
1921 The New Hospital moved to the Milbank Property at Polk and Washington. During its ten years of operation, the ownership and management of The New Hospital changed several times. Among those running it over the years were the said Kohlmans, Paul Howel, Mary Jane Justus, Fern McKenzie, Eula Mae Masner, Mrs. W.L. Wanamaker, Dr. W.M. Girdner, Jennie/Janie Moore, Edith Close, Dr. Barney, Mrs. Clark, and a Dearing.
1927 All mention of The New Hospital in the Constitution-Tribune ceased. Apparently it had closed.
In 1928 there was a petition to create a tax levy to support a public hospital.
1937 Dr. Grace and the widow of Dr. Simpson donated the Chillicothe Hospital building (formerly St. Mary’s), all the hospital equipment, and the property on 11th Street to the City of Chillicothe. In return the city assumed ownership of the Chillicothe Hospital and moved it into a newly built three-story brick building at the same location. The 1888 frame building was torn down immediately after the move.
1954 A two-story east wing was added to Chillicothe Hospital.
1972 Hedrick Medical Center was built beside the 1937 hospital on 11th Street with funding from the Ira and Minnie Hedrick Foundation. The old building remained as physicians’ offices.
2014 Current Hedrick Medical Center opened on North Washington Street. The facility on 11th Street was demolished and the site was sold.
Text originally by Brenda Anderson O’Halloran, local history writer and researcher. February 17, 2024. Edited and added to by Kirsten Mouton.
Sources: Livingston County book by Kirsten Mouton and Brenda Anderson O’Halloran, 2023. cityofchillicothe.org. Chillicothe Constitution-Tribune archives, various dates.
Sources: Livingston County book by Kirsten Mouton and Brenda Anderson O’Halloran, 2023. cityofchillicothe.org. Chillicothe Constitution-Tribune archives, various dates.