St. Francis Hospital (Cincinnati, Ohio) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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St. Francis Hospital
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Front of the hospital
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 Location in Ohio
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| Location | Cincinnati, Ohio |
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| Architect | George W. Rapp |
| Architectural style | Queen Anne |
| NRHP reference No. | 84003714 |
| Added to NRHP | April 19, 1984 |
St. Francis Hospital is a special old building in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on April 19, 1984. This means it's an important historical place!
The hospital first opened in 1889. It was called the St. Francis Hospital for Incurables. The Poor Sisters of St. Francis started it. For a long time, it was the only hospital west of the Allegheny Mountains that could treat cancer. The hospital helped people until 1981.
The Hospital's Early Days
The land where St. Francis Hospital stands has an interesting past. It was once a cemetery called St. Peter's Cemetery. A group of German Catholics managed it.
In 1849, people found out that the cemetery managers were selling burial plots to non-Catholics. This was against the rules of the Catholic Church. A lot of people died that year because of a cholera outbreak. This might have led to more plots being sold.
Because of this, the Archbishop of Cincinnati, John Baptist Purcell, declared the land "unholy." This meant it was no longer a sacred place for burials. So, all the graves were moved to Old St. Joseph's Cemetery in the Price Hill area.
Building a Place of Healing
In 1886, the land was given to the Franciscan Sisters. They were asked to build a hospital there. A generous gift of $25,000 from Reuben R. Springer helped the Sisters start building.
The project was very big, and the land was tricky to build on. So, construction finished in late 1888. The Archbishop of Cincinnati, William Henry Elder, officially opened the hospital in December.
The hospital welcomed its first patients on January 2, 1889. Sister Apollonaire was in charge. By the end of that first year, almost 800 patients had been treated there.
Helping Many People
By 1938, St. Francis Hospital had treated over 40,000 patients. That's a huge number of people! About 85% of these patients were "charity cases." This means they couldn't pay for their medical care, and the hospital helped them for free.
In the early 1970s, the hospital faced financial challenges. It became hard for it to keep going on its own. So, the hospital decided to join with St. George Hospital. St. George Hospital was in Westwood, Ohio. The Dominican Sisters of Peace ran it.
The two hospitals officially merged in 1974. Both St. Francis Hospital and St. George Hospital closed in 1981. A new hospital opened in Westwood, combining their names. It was called St. Francis-St. George Hospital.
