Snohomish County, Washington - Chapter 8: Medical Profession, 1926

Chapter 8: Medical Profession

The first physician in Snohomish County was Dr. H. A. Smith. He lived on an island near the mouth of the Snohomish River and he was the only physician for many miles around, and while he had no competition, there were so few people and they were all so young and healthy that it did not require all his time to follow his profession. Pioneers tell us that he had two attractive daughters and that many a lonesome young man discovered in himself symptoms of serious maladies, chiefly in order that he might live with the doctor at his home. Doctor Smith, like many another man of his profession, liked to dabble with other things, and he diked his island and planted fruit trees, but also, like many another professional, he was not a good farmer, his diking proved insufficient and his orchard was flooded. This so discouraged him that he removed from Snohomish County and went to Seattle, where he took a claim on what was known as Smith's Cove, which, many years later, became the chief deep-water harbor of Seattle, and a part of which was purchased by the Great Northern Railway for its terminal. Nevertheless, while here Doctor Smith was a thrifty soul and cared for the county poor, for in the records of the county commissioners of November 9, 1870, is found the notation that Dr. H. A. Smith is requested to make a statement of the number and condition of the paupers now in his charge.

While Doctor Smith must be accredited as the first to practise medicine in Snohomish County, the physician best known and best loved by the pioneer was Dr. E. C. Folsom. He was, in fact, the first practitioner to devote himself entirely to this profession. His early life was full of romance and excitement, and it is evident that he came to Puget Sound largely to bury himself and to be free from the ties of the past. Nevertheless, he could not rid himself of his fondness for literature and science, and he proved himself one of nature's noblemen, humane, kindly, and considerate, as well as highly proficient. Little is known of his birth and parentage save that he was a native of New Hampshire. He was a graduate first of the famous Philips-Exeter Academy and later of the renowned Harvard. He was a friend of Lewis Agassiz, the famous Swiss naturalist, and his youth gave promise to a most brilliant career. Soon after graduating he received appointment as a surgeon in the United States Army, his first appointment being with Gen. Robert K. Lee at New Orleans in the closing days of the Mexican War. He was later transferred to the West and for seven years served as a United States Army surgeon in Arizona and California. He resigned from the army and returned to his beloved Cambridge, taking a post-graduate course, graduating with the very highest honors conferred by Harvard University. He spent some time visiting the great universities of Europe and later returned to America and entered practice in Wisconsin. But the call of the West was not to be denied, and he was again in California before the days of the Civil War. When the call to arms came his old military training responded to the country's need, and he became a medical in- spector with the California Volunteers. He was also, prior to this time, employed in the secret service of the Government, acting as a government agent on steamships plying between San Francisco and Panama. No one knows the reasons which led him to abandon what appeared to be a brilliant and successful career to become a comparative hermit in the wilds and woods of Snohomish County. Domestic troubles are said to have played a part in this, but it is hard to delve into the private affairs of a man who contributed so much to the health and happiness of the pioneers of Snohomish County and record it in history. Many men who came to the West in those days were men who had a past. It was not good etiquette and was often dangerous to inquire too inquisitively into the antecedents of any man. Suffice it to say that Doctor Folsom came to Snohomish County as a man who seemed to desire to cut himself loose from all past relationships, and at times he sought to bury his troubles in drink. Nevertheless, his natural brilliancy and ability were not to be denied, and his career in Snohomish County was honorable and sincere and showed him to be a lover of his fellowmen. He arrived in the little village of Snohomish in November, 1872, and his coming was a Godsend to the early settlers. Money was no object to him, apparently, and his services were at the call of every man and woman in distress, no matter how poor they might be. It is good to know that these people appreciated his unselfish work. It would be hard to find in all America another physician to whom a monument has been erected by his grateful patients. Doctor Smith removed from Snohomish County soon after the arrival of Doctor Folsom, and the latter was left as the only physician in a territory larger than some of the states of the Union. A pioneer says of him that he was a man of kindly disposition, skillful, with a warm heart for the sufferings of his fellowmen, and no thought for himself or for monetary reward. For twelve years he served the people of this county untiringly and unselfishly, and every physician in the county today may point with pride to his record and be glad if he shall be able to win as high a place in the regard of his fellowmen. It was natural that such a man should assume leadership in such a community, but there is no record that he was a self-seeker in any respect. He served a short time as county superintendent of schools, and when the little newspaper was started by Eldridge Morris in 1876 he gladly lent his assistance, contributing articles of real literary and scientific value. He was one of the moving spirits behind the organization of the Atheneum Society, which was the most notable organization of its kind in Washington during its territorial days. Through his past friendships and associations with men of science, he built up at Snohomish a museum which was not excelled in the entire Northwest at that time, and he gave to the community a literary and intellectual uplift, which is almost unique in the annals of any pioneer village. The first mention found of Doctor Folsom in the official records of the county is in November, 1893, when he was allowed payment for medical services rendered to one John Deering. When the Northern Star began publication in January, 1876, it was announced that he would act as an associate editor, and there are many articles in its columns which can readily be traced to a scientific mind. One can get no better picture of what it meant to be a physician in Snohomish County in 1877 than from the account of an accident which befell Doctor Folsom in February of that year. The newspaper account said, "While going from here to Pack Woods Landing on professional business, after dark, Doctor Folsom was compelled to haul his boat across the upper portage from Steamboat to Ebey Slough on account of low tide. He fell and struck his face on the inner guard, cutting a deep gash under his eye. It will take some time for the wound to heal, and he has since been confined to his bed." This proved a very serious injury, nearly causing the loss of an eye and confining Doctor Folsom to his room for several months. The Star stated that he was unable to contribute to its columns on this account. He left Snohomish temporarily on account of this injury, but he did not leave his patients unprovided for, and the third physician in the county was Dr. F. S. Stirling, who came to attend to Doctor Folsom's practice during his absence. Doctor Locke, of Olympia, was the first dentist known to have visited the county, March, 1877. His stay was that of an itinerant only, and for years the only dental service the county knew was that furnished by dentists who traveled throughout the Sound, making headquarters at Seattle or Olympia. Dr. T. C. Markey came to Utsaladdy at this time, providing medical attendance for that place and the few settlers along the Stillaguamish. As a result of his injuries Doctor Folsom decided to quit his practice, and in May, 1877, he announced this through the columns of the Star and asked his many debtors to settle their obligations by June 1.

The spirit of mutual helpfulness among the pioneers is shown by the item to the effect that Doctor Folsom had just received, from Philadelphia, a new artificial limb for Robert Stillman and that the money for the leg, $175, had been raised by popular subscription.

Whatever may have been Doctor Folsom's intentions in regard to abandoning his practice, all thought of it vanished when the dread diphtheria appeared among the settlers. Here was a battle with death worthy of the best that any warriordoctor could give and Doctor Folsom, with his military training, did not desert in the face of the enemy. Throughout the length of the Snohamish Valley his was the only help upon which the stricken ones could call, and throughout the summer of 1877 he worked day and night to save his people. There were no hospital facilities and no trained nurses; antitoxin was unknown; quarantine regulations were considered foolish and obnoxious by the majority of the people; among the Indians and also in the bachelor quarters of the whites cleanliness was not at a premium; fear fell upon the people and destroyed their powers of resistance; the only wonder is that the scourge did not devastate the entire valley. It is characteristic of the modesty and generosity of Doctor Folsom that after the plague had abated he published a card thanking L. E. Beach, who was then connected with the Snohomish Star, for his services as a nurse during the prevalence of the diphtheria. Doctor Folsom said, and this tribute ought to be treasured by every newspaperman as well as by every physician in the county, "During many years of professional and army experience I never saw a more faithful or careful watcher. I know that the friends of the little ones will ever remember him with grateful feelings."

The next physician mentioned as a regular practitioner was Dr. J. A. C. McCoy, a brother of Rev. Theodore McCoy, who came to Snohomish in 1879. He was a devout churchman as well as a physician and sometimes filled the pulpit when his brother was unable to make his appointment. Dr. H. Stephens, dentist and also physician, was the next on the scene, in 1882. His wife was a photographer, and between them they managed to eke out a living, although the doctor advertised, 'Set of teeth, $15." Dr. H. A. Eddy came during this year. He became prominent as a political factor as well as in the medical profession, and after a few years at Snohomish moved to Hartford. He was one of the few physicians to serve in the Legislature from Snohomish County. During the brisk times of 1883, when all Washington was rapidly filling with immigrants, there were numerous doctors and dentists who located at various points along the Sound. A few of these remained, built up practices, and became helpful and prominent citizens. Others became discouraged after a short time and removed to other fields. These men were not necessarily quacks nor imposters; they were largely young graduates attracted by the stories of the abounding prosperity and the prospect that the building of railroads would greatly increase population and make this a most profitable field. The railroads did not materialize at this time, the excitement was soon over, and these men drifted away. Among those mentioned as locating in the county in 1882 and 1883 were Dr. C. W. Hunt, a dentist, who officed with Doctor Folsom; C. W. Spratt, likewise a dentist; F. H. Reiney, physician and pharmacist, who came from Michigan; Dr. S. Whittimore, who was a government doctor on the Tulalip reservation; Dr. W. N. Towngrow, who came from Humboldt County, Calif., located first at Stanwood and within a few weeks moved to Snohomish, where he became one of the leading physicians of the county; Dr. H. Stephens removed from Snohomish to his ranch on the Skykomish River near Fern Bluff in 1883 and thereafter devoted his time largely to agriculture; and Dr. C. W. Hunt, dentist, removed to Port Townsend.

In March, 1885, the Star published a statement that Dr. A. C. Folsom was ill at the hotel, that his life was in danger, and that his friends should come to his help. It is of record that his friends did rally to him, and that all that loving friends could do was done for him in these last days of his life. The end came for this, the best friend of Snohomish County pioneers, on May 15, 1885. The obituary notice in the Star said that Albert Chase Folsom died of dropsy, age fifty-nine; that he was born in Illinois July 14, 1827, and that but little was known of his family relations, save that his mother was a near relative of Salmon P. Chase, who was governor of Ohio and secretary of the treasury under Abraham Lincoln. His second marriage proved unfortunate, but he never related the details of this tragedy, which left him a broken man, careless of his own life and welfare and utterly regardless of wealth or fame. He was an exceptionally skillful physician, and his services were so free to all that other physicians, perhaps rightfully, complained. He was a man of fine appearance, six feet tall with dark hair and beard, and prominent but regular features. He was a fluent writer and well versed in many sciences besides that of medicine. During his last illness, which was long and painful, he showed no desire to live, and through all the years of his life in Snohomish he was devoid of personal ambition, but the poor and the unfortunate found in him an ever-ready friend. No call at whatever hour or from whatever districts was neglected by him, although it might imply long journeys by canoe or through the woods on foot or horseback. He was subject to times of great depression, and these he sought to relieve by drink, but, in spite of this one fault, he was by far the best beloved man among the pioneers of Snohomish County. More than a year after his death a public subscription was taken to erect a monument to Doctor Folsom for his "'countless acts of sympathy and benevolence and for his cheerful attendance upon the poor, the sick, and the unfortunate for a long series of years." This monument, of handsome Italian marble, reached Snohomish in June, 1887, and was set up in the little burying ground. It has long been neglected and forgotten, and it would be well today if the Medical Association of Snohomish County and those who love its history and who would preserve its best predictions should take steps to locate and remark the last resting place of one of the most romantic and heroic figures in the early history of the Snohomish Valley.

The comparatively hard times of 1885 and 1886 were no more conducive to new professional men than to new business enterprises, but with the recommencement of railroad activities there came an influx of doctors, lawyers and dentists. An adventurer among these was one Dr. G. L. Hord, who left many creditors to mourn his departure after a brief residence.

Dr. - - - - - - Phelps established himself at Florence in October, 1887, building himself a home, and being the first permanent physician residing in the north part of the county. He later removed to Arlington. The professional directory of the Snohomish Eye for June 2, 1888, contains the names of but three physicians and one dentist. They were Dr. W. N. Towndrow, Dr. J. A. Hove, from Appamattox, Kans., Dr. J. P. Morris, who had an office over the Wilbur drug store, and Dr. J. L. McCain, dentist, who settled in Snohomish in December, 1886. Dr. J. N. Starr joined Doctor Morris in August, 1888, and other new physicians were a Doctor Russell, who was first at Snohomish and then at Stanwood, Dr. J. Soule, whose office was at the Carpenter drug store in Snohomish, and, in 1889, Dr. Guy C. Miller, who was a graduate of the University of Virginia. Starr and Morris dissolved partnership in 1889, Doctor Morris leaving, while Doctor Starr soon became engrossed in the mineral springs which he had discovered near Cady Pass, and spent a large portion of his time in that vicinity. This left the Snohomish field comparatively open, thus attracting two physicians who became real factors in the community. These were Dr. Thomas Keefe and Dr. N. S. McCready, the latter being a practicing physician at Snohomish in 1926. Doctor Keefe came from San Diego, Cal., and established himself in the Ault block. He attained an excellent reputation in his profession and was appointed surgeon for the Seattle, Lake Shore & Eastern Railway in 1892. The northern part of the county was favored by the coming of two notable physicians in 1889. Dr. Daniel McEacheran, who settled at Stanwood, was of Scotch descent, but was born in Canada, June 25, 1860. He was a graduate of Michigan University and had practiced medicine at Mayville, N. D., and St. Paul, Minn., before coming to Washington. In 1892 he was married to Bertha, a daughter of D. O. Pearson, the pioneer merchant of Stanwood, and thus became doubly identified with Snohomish County. He returned to Minnesota, however, in 1894, coming to Stanwood again in 1898 to make it his permanent home. It was during this Minnesota residence that his wife died. Doctor McEacheran became known both as a physician and as a business man of large affairs and was one of the leaders of his community in many ways.

Dr. W. F. Oliver located first upon a claim seven miles east of Arlington, in 1889, making his profession to some extent subordinate to that of farming. The country into which he came was very new and he shared all the hardships of the pioneers. Soon after the arrival of the railroad he moved to Arlington, in 1893, and that city has since been his home. He was of Scotch-English origin, but was born at Bloomfield, Ia., August 8, 1857. He secured his arts degree from Illinois University and his medical degree from the University of Indiana, and practiced medicine in the State of Kansas for several years before coming to Washington. Doctor Oliver is among the most honored of the pioneers of the Stillaguamish Valley today. He has taken great interest in the history of that section and has done much to preserve it and also to keep alive the old time spirit as president of the Pioneer Association.

Dr. Edwin Buchanan came to the county in 1888 as physician for the Tulalip agency, being succeeded by his distinguished nephew, Dr. Charles Milton Buchanan, in 1894. Neither of these men entered the general practice, but Dr. Charles Milton Buchanan, later Indian agent, was one of the most constructive forces that the county has known. He was born at Alexandria, Va., October 11, 1868, and received his education in the schools and universities of Washington, D. C. He was made superintendent of the Tulalip agency July 1, 1901, and his name must be linked with that of Father E. C. Chirouse as the two white men most beloved by the Indians of Snohomish County and their best benefactors. Dr. Guy Miller, of Lynchburg, Va., located in Snohomish in 1889, as did Dr. R. O. Sturgeon, a dentist, of Topeka, Kans., a graduate of Michigan University, while Dr. J. S. McHilney, of Washington, D. C., located at Marysville. Dr. S. B. Limerick, Dr. T. F. Thompson, a homeopathic physician, and Dr. J. N. Starr, who had resumed his practice, were among the new physicians in Snohomish in 1890. The most important newcomer in 1891 was Dr. W. C. Cox. He arrived at Lowell on July 6 and was the first physician at the mouth of the Snohomish River since the days of Dr. H. A. Smith. The town was unplatted and Everett little more than a wilderness. In September of that year he bought lots in the first Everett plat made by W. G. Swalwell, and he was the first physician in the City of Everett. He at once became prominent in the affairs of the new city, and during his very earliest days he stood somewhat in the relation to Everett that Doctor Folsom did to Snohomish. In 1893 he was one of the chief promoters of the first hospital; in 1894 he was a member of the city council; in 1895 he was mayor of the city; in 1906 he was president of the Good Roads Association of the county; and for nearly ten years was one of the leaders in the great educational campaign which culminated in the bond issue which gave Snohomish County its splendid road system; in 1900 he was a member of the State Board of Medical Examiners; in 1912 he was president of the State Medical Association; and in 1915 he was president of the Everett Commercial Club. He is still in active practice and is the dean of the medical profession of Everett.

The presence of large numbers of working men in connection with mine development and railroad construction caused the few physicians of the county to be exceedingly busy during 1892 and 1893. The smallpox developed in the railroad camps and was soon scattered about the county. It was in a very virulent form and there were many fatalities. With such a roving, irresponsible population as that of the transit working men, it was almost impossible to enforce quarantine regulations, and this aided the spread of the disease. It was most prevalent and most fatal at Snohomish. Men were vaccinated by the hundred, but the epidemic lasted for more than a year in spite of the courageous efforts of Snohomish County physicians. There were several short lived physicians and dentists attracted to the county at this time, but the profession gained such men as Doctor Harris, of Everett and Dr. E. A. Stafford, a graduate of Rush Medical College, who came from Sumner, Wash., to Snohomish, where he is still in active practice. Another arrival was Dr. Frank Chappell, who was the first physician, first druggist, and the first hardware merchant of Granite Falls. In later years he also engaged in the lumher business, and his contributions to the literature of the county have also been of value. Doctor Chappell was born November 18, 1846, and at the time this history is printed he will have attained his eightieth birthday. [ver since his arrival in Granite Falls he has been one of its leading citizens.

What was popularly known as the Keeley cure for alcoholic victims fairly swept the country in the early 90s, and a bichloride of gold institute was established at

Snohomish in March, 1893, and with it there was also established a trust fund to aid those who were unfortunate enough to require this treatment. Mayor E. C. Ferguson was president and Reverend Doctor Merritt was secretary of this trust fund. The institution was, however, short lived.

The Snohomish County Medical Society was organized at a meeting of physicians held at Everett January 9, 1894. The first officers were: Dr. John R. Hathaway, who came to Everett in 1892, president; Doctor Starr, of Snohomish, vice president ; Doctor Thomas, of Everett, secretary ; Doctor Limerick, of Snohomish, treasurer. Other physicians present were Cox, Harris, Lytle, Stockwell, Stauffer, and Thomas of Everett and MclIlhany of Marysville. This meeting was held at the office of Doctor Thomas. Members of the credentials committee were Doctors Lytle, Limerick and McIlhany; on by-laws, Harris, Cox, and Limerick ; censors, Stauffer, Stockwell, and Cox. The first monthly meeting was held on January 23, at the office of Doctor Limerick at Snohomish, at which time Doctor Hathaway read an inaugural address, and it was moved to incorporate. The second meeting was held at the office of Doctor Cox at Everett.

Doctor Sturgeon, the Snohomish dentist, opened an office in Everett in 1894, and in 1895 Doctor Limerick, of Snohomish, was appointed as a member of the medical staff of the new Everett hospital. It was in this year also that Doctor Morris, of Snohomish, purchased a drug store at Marysville and located at that place. The medical society flourished, and the reports of its meetings were published from time to time. Dr. Chas. P. Thomas was the second president and Dr. J. N. Starr was elected its president in January, 1896. Doctor Thomas left Everett in 1896 and afterward became famous as one of the leading surgeons of Los Angeles. During a visit in 1925 he was the honored guest of Everett physicians. In 1896 Doctor Limerick, who had served as county physician, removed to Seattle, and Doctor Keefe was appointed county physician upon his resignation. One of the very few scandals of the profession transpired when Dr. H. L. Brown was arrested for practising without a license at Haller City, and when Dr. D. D. Bessie was arrested for aiding in Brown's escape to British Columbia. Doctor Case removed from Everett to Snohomish in 1897 and established a hospital in the Durrant's building. Snohomish hailed the coming of this institution with great delight, the citizens generally contributing and the Odd Fellows of the city furnishing one of the wards, but it proved a short lived institution in spite of the many marvelous cures reported. Doctor McCully, of Tacoma, purchased the dental outfit and succeeded to the practice of Doctor McKane at Snohomish in 1897, and Dr. Henry P. Howard was a distinct addition to the medical profession of Everett in 1898. He was born in Prince Edwards Island in 1865. He obtained his degree at the University of Pennsylvania in 1892, at which time he visited Snohomish and other points on the Sound, but finally settled in Eastern Oregon, where he was a successful practitioner for a number of years. Dr. C. E. Hoye, a graduate of the medical college of New York University, located at Arlington in 1899, removing after a year to Seattle. A new arrival in 1900 was Dr. James A. Durrant, who first located at Marysville. He was a native of Canada, but had just graduated from the University of Michigan. In 1902 he removed to Snohomish, where he has since presided, and has gained recognition as a legislator as well as in medicine. The first woman doctor in Snohomish County was Dr. Ida Noyes McIntire. She was the wife of Albert W. McIntire, the former governor of the State of Colorado, who located in Everett in 1900 and who was for a time one of the leading and most spectacular figures in the new city. Mrs. McIntire was born at Providence, R. I, April 28, 1859. She was a graduate of the medical department of Northwestern University at Evanston, Ill. She was a member of the Board of Charities and Corrections of the State of Colorado, and she was married to Governor Mc- Intire in 1899. She conducted a private hospital at Everett and afterward engaged in general practice. .

Since these early days the ranks of the physicians of Snohomish County have contained many men of skill and of eminence in their profession. They have responded loyally to their obligations as citizens, both in peace and in times of war. They have kept pace with the progress of medical knowledge and with the progress of the time. While the early physicians did not refuse the hardships of journeys on foot or by canoe or on horseback to reach their patients, they were the first to welcome better means of transportation and were among the pioneer atltomobile owners of the county and the most ardent disciples of good roads. In the offices of Snohomish County physicians today may be found the most modern itiVentions in the line of instruments and apparatus, and there are now specialists in almost every branch of medical work, these men taking the place of the old tire general practitioner.

In no city do the physicians and dentists have more distinctive and elegant quarters than are furnished the men of these professions in Everett by the Medical and Dental Building, which is the pride of the city. This is a fireproof seven-story structure of the most modern type, and here are found the offices of a majority of the doctors and dentists of Everett. Quite fittingly this building was erected on the lots for more than a quarter of a century occupied by the office-residences of two of the pioneer physicians of the city, Doctor Cox and Doctor Hathaway. On the second floor of this building is a room devoted to a medical library, together with a hall in which the meetings of the Medical Association are held. Dr. O. A. Thomle is president and Dr. A. P. Duryee 1s secretary of this organization, which is now one of the oldest in the county.

Hospital Facilities

Everett physicians, and more particularly the people of Everett and of Snohomish County, are exceptionally fortunate in the splendid hospital facilities which Everett affords. Like all other good things these hospitals represent work and sacrifice and generosity and "team work" on the part of the citizens. The city was little more than a year old when the need of a hospital was so keenly felt that it was announced that the city had bought the wigwam where the People's Party had been holding its meetings and that it was to be torn down and reconstructed into a hospital. The cornerstone of the new hospital was laid, with Masonic rites, on August 8, 1893, Judge Delaney delivering the address, and its completion was celebrated by a grand charity ball on January 17, 1894, the proceeds of which were given for hospital equipment. The building, which cost $2,800, was a frame threestory structure and was a very imposing building for the new city. It was paid for by public subscriptions and by the proceeds of excursions, dances and entertainments given by the women of the city. Schuyler Duryee headed the board of trustees and Mrs. C. C. Brown was chairman of the still more important board of lady managers.

during the first month of its operation. There were different superintendents in charge, the most prominent being Mrs. Henry Friday, who resigned November I, 1900, when Miss Canning became head nurse and Mrs. Hammond housekeeper and a nurses' home was rented. The newspapers of Everett during this period contain frequent mention of the activities of the women of the city in support of the hospital On March 30, 1893, they published one issue of the Everett News, the proceeds going to building fund and in July, 1894, they sponsored an excursion over the new Monte Cristo Railroad, and these are but samples of the many ways and means used by the women to help build and maintain this institution. In April, 1894, Mrs. W. F. Edwards, president, and Miss Augusta Plummer, secretary, appeared before the county commissioners in behalf of the poor who needed hospital facilities.

Later, however, the support of the hospital became too onerous and the building was sold to the Norwegian Lutheran congregation to be used as a college. During these years Everett relied for hospital services upon the private hospital erected by Mrs. Friday on Hoyt Avenue, between Thirty-fifth and Thirty-sixth streets.

Providence Hospital

On March 1, 1905, Providence Hospital was founded by the Catholic Church of Everett. This occupied the frame building built for the famed Monte Cristo Hotel, which in its day was one of the finest in the Northwest, on Kromer and Pacific avenues. This hospital has since been under the very efficient management of the Sisters of Charity of the House of Providence, an order which has been carrying on its work of healing and educating for more than 150 years, and which extended its operations to the Northwest in 1843, now having eight hospitals and eight schools in the State of Washington. That these facilities were badly needed by Everett at that time is shown by the fact that 435 patients were cared for, from March 1, 1905, to August 17, 1906, 474 the year following, 519 during 1908, and 1,130 during 1922. The frame building was neither adequate nor safe for such a large number of patients, and on October 14, 1923, Right Rev. Edward J. O'Dea, bishop of Seattle, laid the cornerstone of the fine new hospital. This is built of brick with fireproof construction throughout, on the standardized plan approved by the best hospital authorities. It is built in the form of a cross, three stories high, except the center of the cross which is of four stories. There are beds for 150 patients and twelve sisters and twenty-three nurses are employed in charge of Sister Alexander, Sister Superior and Sister Erlimenda, her companion. At least one-fourth of the patients of this institution are cared for as a charity or for part payment according to their ability to pay. The grounds of this hospital are now being beautified and a nurses' home is planned for the near future. 3

New General Hospital

But the private hospital and the Providence Hospital together did not furnish Everett with sufficient hospital facilities, for they had to meet the needs not only of the city but of the growing county. In this emergency some of the most generous and public-spirited men of Everett came forward and proposed and executed the largest and best philanthropic enterprise the city has ever known. It was first planned to raise not less than $157,000 for the purchase of the Parthena College building, which.was to be transformed into a hospital. Thorough examination of this building showed that while it was in excellent condition it was not perfectly fireproof and could not be made to fulfill all the requirements of a modern hospital. The situation looked almost hopeless, and it might have been, but for the work and the enthusiasm and generosity of one man, A. H. B. Jordan. Mr. Jordan declared that not only must Everett have a new hospital, but that it must have the best and most modern hospital in the United States of America. He backed his words with a donation of $80,000, and he backed his money with the most intelligent kind of enthusiasm until there was no stopping the hospital campaign in Everett. L. C. Butler was the chairman of this committee of splendid business men who put this project across with the same zeal and success that Everett showed in every "war drive."

The new General Hospital, which was dedicated February 28, 1924, cost in the neighborhood of $400,000. It was pronounced by Doctor Williamson, of Portland, Ore., who is one of the nation's foremost authorities on hospital construction, as the "last word" in hospital building. It is absolutely fireproof. It is built aiter the best designs for hospital comfort and convenience. Every detail of sanitation and ventilation is perfect. It is equipped with all that the best of modern surgery could ask. In short, there are larger hospitals in America, but none better. The hospital proper is used only for the care of patients and to provide all that is necessary for the use of the physicians and surgeons attending them. This has been made possible through the further generosity of Mr. Jordan, who built and furnished a nurses' home at a cost of $60,000 and presented it to the people of Everett. Moreover, Mr. Jordan, like all other successful business men, is following up his investment and making it worth while by constant care and intelligent interest. The hospital was built to care for seventy-five patients, but it is constantly crowded beyond this limit. Both hospitals are open to the use of any legitimate physician or surgeon and both comply with the high standards of the American Medical Association. Training schools for nurses are features of both hospitals and in this way also are proving of great value to the community.

Everett is to be congratulated upon its splendid General Hospital, but it is still more to be congratulated that it has such citizens as A. H. B. Jordan and others who made the hospital possible.