|
Good Samaritan Hospital
A thriving African American neighborhood in Third Ward was anchored at 411
West Hill Street by this twenty-room private hospital for blacks built in
1891. It is said to be the first privately funded, independent hospital in
North Carolina built exclusively for the treatment of black patients. It
was erected through energetic fund-raising efforts of Charlotte women,
primarily Jane Smedburg Wilkes and women of St. Peter's Episcopal Church.
Additions in 1925 and1937 created a 100-bed facility. The hospital sat
just west of an Episcopal mission chapel for blacks, St. Michael and All
Angels Church. Rooms in the tw0-story building had hot and cold water and
iron cots with springs. In 1959, Memorial Hospital took over "Good
Sam", as it was called, continuing operations here as Charlotte
Community Hospital. Before the early 1960s, it was the only local hospital
where black physicians were allowed to practice in Mecklenburg County. In
the 1980s, it became Magnolias Rest Home. The building was razed in 1990
to make room for Ericsson Stadium. (Courtesy Lew Powell) |
