[ Itinerary ]
[ Tour Guide ]
[ Related Sites ]
[ ]
[ NC Medical College ]
[ Walking Tour ]
[ Directions ]
[ Overcash House ]
[ Itinerary ]
[ Tour Guide ]
[ Related Sites ]
[ ]
[ Walking Tour ]
[ Directions ]
[ Overcash House ]
Who remembers Jane Smedberg Renwick Wilke?
Almost nobody. That's sad,
because she was a remarkable woman and a true Charlotte hero. A member
of St. Peter's Episcopal Church, which you'll see later on this tour,
and wife of John Wilkes, owner of the Mecklenburg Iron Works, Jane
Wilkes, a native of New York City, labored tirelessly to establish
Charlotte's first civilian hospital. It was no easy task. Not the
least of her accomplishments was heading the fundraising campaign, which
raised enough cash to open the hospital, initially known as the
"Charlotte Home and Hospital," at a temporary location on East Seventh
Street on January 20, 1876.
Money was not the only issue. In those days people looked upon hospitals with disdain and distrust. One hospital supporter explained: It is strange to recall the tremendous struggle which the pioneers were called upon to make against prejudice; first of the patient, who had to be almost kidnapped from his relatives, and brought against his own will as well, and secondly, against the opposition of those who lived in the neighborhood, who resented the diseases brought into their midst. The first few patients were brought in under resistance so fierce that one of the two or three policemen which the town boasted had always to walk beside the patient, and at times stand around the premises, to intimidate the rioters who threatened to shoot into the building.
In the beginning, hospitals mainly served the poor and homeless. No respectable person would be caught dead in such a place. St.Peter's Hospital, named for nearby St. Peter's Episcopal Church, opened at this location on May 30, 1878. The lot cost $273.42. Gradually, the facility expanded as more and more people were willing to be admitted. The building assumed its present form in 1922, when architect Louis Asbury, Sr. designed a major addition to the front.
In April, 1938 Dr. William Henry Walsh, a hospital consultant from Chicago, presented a survey of medical facilities in Charlotte. His findings prompted the community to launch a drive to establish a new hospital. The St. Peter's Board of Trustees voted to contribute $100,000 to this effort and to close St. Peter's if the drive was successful.. It was. Charlotte Memorial Hospital, now Carolinas Medical Center, opened on October 8, 1940. It was quite a scene that day. Patients were carried on stretchers out the front door of St. Peter's to ambulances that hauled them to the new facility across town. By then no policemen were needed to control rioters. The operating rooms stood silent. The halls empty. But there are still lots of folks in Charlotte who drive by the old brick building, which has been converted into condominiums, and say, "I was born there."
Across Sixth Street from St. Peter's' is a fountain which marks the entrance to Fourth Ward Park. Enter the park at this point and follow the sidewalk as it leads you to the north end of the park at the intersection of Pine Street and Eighth Street, where you will see a large Victorian house with a corner tower. Stop at the fountain across Eighth Street from the house, Overcash House.
Directions
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[ Itinerary ]
[ Tour Guide ]
[ Related Sites ]
[ ]
[ Walking Tour ]
[ Directions ]
[ Overcash House ]
