St. Francis Hospital (Cincinnati, Ohio)
St. Francis Hospital is a registered historic building in Cincinnati, Ohio, listed in the National Register on April 19, 1984. Opened in 1889 as St. Francis Hospital for Incurables by the Poor Sisters of St. Francis in the United States, it was initially the only hospital west of the Alleghenies with facilities to treat cancer. It operated until 1981.
St. Francis Hospital | |
 Front of the hospital | |
   | |
| Location | Cincinnati, Ohio |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 39°7′33.79″N 84°33′33.04″W |
| Architect | George W. Rapp [1] |
| Architectural style | Queen Anne[1] |
| NRHP reference No. | 84003714[1] |
| Added to NRHP | April 19, 1984[1] |
History
The land on which the former hospital stands had originally been St. Peter's Cemetery, operated by the German Catholic Cemetery Association. In 1849, the directors of the association were discovered to have been selling plots to non-Catholics, which was a violation of church law. This was possibly due to the large number of burials resulting from a cholera outbreak in the city that year. As a result, the cemetery was placed under interdict by John Baptist Purcell, the Archbishop of Cincinnati. This meant the land was no longer consecrated. The graves were moved to Old St. Joseph's Cemetery in the Price Hill neighborhood.[2]
In 1886 the land was donated to the Franciscan Sisters on the condition that they build a hospital on it. A $25,000 bequest from Reuben R. Springer (1800-1884) enabled the Sisters to begin construction. Due to the scope of the project and the terrain, construction was completed only in late 1888 and the hospital dedicated by the Archbishop of Cincinnati, William Henry Elder, in December. The hospital opened under the direction of Sister Apollonaire, S.P.S.F., on January 2, 1889, and numbered nearly 800 patients by the end of the year.[3]
By 1938, the number of patients treated at the hospital numbered over 40,000. Of these, about 85% were charity cases, unable to pay for their treatment.[2]
It was determined during the early 1970s that the hospital could no longer continue financially on its own and a merger was arranged with St. George Hospital in Cheviot, Ohio, operated by the Dominican Sisters of St. Mary of the Springs, which took effect in 1974. Both hospitals closed in 1981 and a new joint hospital, named St. Francis-St. George Hospital, was opened in Westwood.[2]
References
- "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. June 30, 2007.
- "St. Francis Hospital". Greetings from Cincinnati.
- "This property was formerly used as the St. Peter's Cemetery. Repeated violations of the church laws by its directors, caused the cemetery to be placed under interdict by Archbishop Purcell in 1849. Consequently, the cemetery was soon abandoned. In 1882 the property was given to the Sisters of the Poor of St. Francis with the condition that they build a hospital on it. The sloping of the land meant that erection of the immense buildings occupied many years and entailed great expense. Finally, on December 1888, the "St. Francis Hospital for Incurables" was opened and solemnly dedicated by Archbishop Elder. Admission was granted to incurable patients, without regard to creed or nationality. On January 1, 1896, there were 269 patients remaining at the hospital; 419 patients were discharged and 95 died during the year 1895, making a total number of patients treated during that year: 783. Of these 443 were males and 340 females. Sr. Apollonaire was the Superior. The chaplain was Rev. Francis Xavier Buechle, O.S.F." Relation: From the Souvenir Album of American cities: Catholic Churches of Cincinnati and Hamilton County edition, 1896
