The
recent passing of famed heart surgeon Dr. Michael DeBakey reminds us of
how magnificent the hospitals in Houston are today.
Indeed, the medical profession has played an important role in the City from the earliest times. After the founding of Houston and its establishment as the Capital of the Republic of Texas, the General Military Hospital was opened by Surgeon General of the Army Ashbel Smith in 1837 to serve the veterans of the war for Texas independence. It was located on the southwest corner of Lamar Avenue and Bagby Street near Buffalo Bayou. The hospital was moved to Austin in 1841 when the capital was relocated.
In 1858, the City purchased twelve acres adjacent to Phineas Mahan's Spring Garden (today, it is the east side of Gillette Street, across from the Federal Reserve Building) for a hospital ("a pest house") and a graveyard. During the Civil War, this hospital treated wounded Confederate soldiers. After the war, it served the Union troops who were stationed in Houston.
Although many local histories point to the establishment of the St. Joseph Infirmary on the northwest corner of Franklin Avenue and Caroline Street in 1887 as the beginning of "modern" medical care in Houston, other hospitals were established in the years after the Civil War. One of the most prominent of these was the Houston Infirmary founded about 1873 by young doctors who had gained experience while serving in the Civil War. This private hospital developed a staff of skilled physicians and surgeons who served the community for forty years.
Associated with the railroad industry, the Houston Infirmary prospered as the railroads expanded their operations in Houston and throughout the state during the last part of the 19th century. The rough and dangerous conditions involved in the railroad operations provided ample opportunity for the surgeons of the hospital to develop the state of the art skills to treat trauma injuries that were common in the workplace. The railroads, realizing the value of skilled workers, began providing medical care for its workers that kept them on the job and back to work as soon as possible through contracts with the Houston Infirmary.
The two young physicians who founded the Houston Infirmary were Dr. David Finney Stuart and Dr. Joshua Larendon. These thirty year olds also brought into their partnership a recent medical graduate, the twenty-three year old Dr. Thomas Joel Boyles from Alabama. This trio of medical specialists operated their hospital for over a decade before recruiting other medical specialists to the hospital, three of whom were relatives of the founders. Under the guidance of these men, the Houston Infirmary, often referred to as the Stuart and Boyles Infirmary, established itself as "one of the first high-class hospitals in Texas."
James M. Boyles, a native of Alabama, came to Houston in 1878 to study medicine in the offices of Dr. D. F. Stuart and his uncle Dr. T. J. Boyles. The younger Boyles did intern work at the Houston Infirmary and then attended the Alabama Medical College at Mobile in 1882. After receiving his medical degree in 1885, Boyles returned to Houston and specialized in surgery. In April, 1886, Dr. James Boyles took charge of the infirmary.
Dr. Samuel Clark Red, a recent graduate of Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, came to Houston in 1887 to join his uncle Dr. David F. Stuart at the Houston Infirmary. He supervised the City's first training school for nurses and introduced ambulance service.
Dr. Joseph R. Stuart received his medical degree from Jefferson Medical College in 1890. He practiced medicine in Houston and worked at the Houston Infirmary in partnership with his father Dr. D. F. Stuart and his cousin Dr. S. C. Red. Dr. Stuart was a gifted surgeon, and he was the Chief Surgeon for both the Houston and Texas Central Railroad and the Houston East and West Texas Railroad.
By the first decade of the 20th century, the founding doctors of the Houston Infirmary had come to the end of their careers. Dr. Larendon died in 1905, as did Dr. Thomas Boyles. Dr. David Stuart passed away in 1909. The tragic death of Dr. Joseph R. Stuart, one of the second generation of partners, on January 12, 1913, led to the decline of the hospital. The Southern Pacific Railroad, foreseeing the future, had planned and established its own hospital by 1913. In that same year, the Houston Infirmary closed.
The original location of the Houston Infirmary, when it was established in 1874, was in the former Brashear home on Washington Avenue, across the road from Glenwood Cemetery.
By 1883, the hospital was relocated to new buildings at 124 Washington Avenue at Tenth Street (now, Elder Street). The main building was a linear two story structure of four sections, the office was at the front, a square central section, a rectangular section with the kitchen at the rear, and an offset section attached to the east of the kitchen. Behind the main building were two other structures, a one story structure divided into the Coat House and the Laundry, and a two story "colored ward." By 1896, expansion of the facility had connected the main building with the ward building in the rear. A "Negro Ward" was added as a long, rectangular structure immediately west of the main building.
After the hospital closed in 1913, the site was acquired by the Butler Brothers Wholesale Merchandise Warehouse Company, and a two story warehouse built in 1920. The site today continues to be used as a warehouse. The property, now designated as 1002 Washington Avenue, is a 184,432 square foot warehouse owned by Leslie L. Appelt, which he acquired from American Warehouses, Inc. in 1988, and it is valued at $4.3 million. Appropriately enough, the site retains its close affinity to the railroads and it sits across the street from the Amtrak Terminal.
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and this web site is copyrighted. All rights reserved.Indeed, the medical profession has played an important role in the City from the earliest times. After the founding of Houston and its establishment as the Capital of the Republic of Texas, the General Military Hospital was opened by Surgeon General of the Army Ashbel Smith in 1837 to serve the veterans of the war for Texas independence. It was located on the southwest corner of Lamar Avenue and Bagby Street near Buffalo Bayou. The hospital was moved to Austin in 1841 when the capital was relocated.
In 1858, the City purchased twelve acres adjacent to Phineas Mahan's Spring Garden (today, it is the east side of Gillette Street, across from the Federal Reserve Building) for a hospital ("a pest house") and a graveyard. During the Civil War, this hospital treated wounded Confederate soldiers. After the war, it served the Union troops who were stationed in Houston.
Although many local histories point to the establishment of the St. Joseph Infirmary on the northwest corner of Franklin Avenue and Caroline Street in 1887 as the beginning of "modern" medical care in Houston, other hospitals were established in the years after the Civil War. One of the most prominent of these was the Houston Infirmary founded about 1873 by young doctors who had gained experience while serving in the Civil War. This private hospital developed a staff of skilled physicians and surgeons who served the community for forty years.
Associated with the railroad industry, the Houston Infirmary prospered as the railroads expanded their operations in Houston and throughout the state during the last part of the 19th century. The rough and dangerous conditions involved in the railroad operations provided ample opportunity for the surgeons of the hospital to develop the state of the art skills to treat trauma injuries that were common in the workplace. The railroads, realizing the value of skilled workers, began providing medical care for its workers that kept them on the job and back to work as soon as possible through contracts with the Houston Infirmary.
The two young physicians who founded the Houston Infirmary were Dr. David Finney Stuart and Dr. Joshua Larendon. These thirty year olds also brought into their partnership a recent medical graduate, the twenty-three year old Dr. Thomas Joel Boyles from Alabama. This trio of medical specialists operated their hospital for over a decade before recruiting other medical specialists to the hospital, three of whom were relatives of the founders. Under the guidance of these men, the Houston Infirmary, often referred to as the Stuart and Boyles Infirmary, established itself as "one of the first high-class hospitals in Texas."
James M. Boyles, a native of Alabama, came to Houston in 1878 to study medicine in the offices of Dr. D. F. Stuart and his uncle Dr. T. J. Boyles. The younger Boyles did intern work at the Houston Infirmary and then attended the Alabama Medical College at Mobile in 1882. After receiving his medical degree in 1885, Boyles returned to Houston and specialized in surgery. In April, 1886, Dr. James Boyles took charge of the infirmary.
Dr. Samuel Clark Red, a recent graduate of Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, came to Houston in 1887 to join his uncle Dr. David F. Stuart at the Houston Infirmary. He supervised the City's first training school for nurses and introduced ambulance service.
Dr. Joseph R. Stuart received his medical degree from Jefferson Medical College in 1890. He practiced medicine in Houston and worked at the Houston Infirmary in partnership with his father Dr. D. F. Stuart and his cousin Dr. S. C. Red. Dr. Stuart was a gifted surgeon, and he was the Chief Surgeon for both the Houston and Texas Central Railroad and the Houston East and West Texas Railroad.
By the first decade of the 20th century, the founding doctors of the Houston Infirmary had come to the end of their careers. Dr. Larendon died in 1905, as did Dr. Thomas Boyles. Dr. David Stuart passed away in 1909. The tragic death of Dr. Joseph R. Stuart, one of the second generation of partners, on January 12, 1913, led to the decline of the hospital. The Southern Pacific Railroad, foreseeing the future, had planned and established its own hospital by 1913. In that same year, the Houston Infirmary closed.
The original location of the Houston Infirmary, when it was established in 1874, was in the former Brashear home on Washington Avenue, across the road from Glenwood Cemetery.
By 1883, the hospital was relocated to new buildings at 124 Washington Avenue at Tenth Street (now, Elder Street). The main building was a linear two story structure of four sections, the office was at the front, a square central section, a rectangular section with the kitchen at the rear, and an offset section attached to the east of the kitchen. Behind the main building were two other structures, a one story structure divided into the Coat House and the Laundry, and a two story "colored ward." By 1896, expansion of the facility had connected the main building with the ward building in the rear. A "Negro Ward" was added as a long, rectangular structure immediately west of the main building.
After the hospital closed in 1913, the site was acquired by the Butler Brothers Wholesale Merchandise Warehouse Company, and a two story warehouse built in 1920. The site today continues to be used as a warehouse. The property, now designated as 1002 Washington Avenue, is a 184,432 square foot warehouse owned by Leslie L. Appelt, which he acquired from American Warehouses, Inc. in 1988, and it is valued at $4.3 million. Appropriately enough, the site retains its close affinity to the railroads and it sits across the street from the Amtrak Terminal.