The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1901-12-04
HOSPlT Al. WILL
Be MADE LARGER
Captain Dimmock Drawing Plans for
Fredericksburg Institution.
EAST WING HAD BEEN THERE
Exesvstors a, wes.over Find Foundation
q .be Disputed Portion of the
Mansion = Other Building
improvements.
EAST WING HAD BEEN THERE.

( Captain. NJ ]. Dimmock,. the veteran
architect of this city, has recently been
engaged in making drawings for the inn
provenerts TO be made to the Mary
Washington Hospital. In Fredericksburg.
The lady managers OF the hospital have
been cndcGvoring fer some time 10 get
enough money to enlarge the building.
Friends in Washington, Baltimore, and
other cities have come to their aid ana
q considerable amount has been secured.
Still the expenses will be verS heavy
Captain Dimmock took-advaEtage OF the
opportunity to help them and Will make
the p' ms for them without cent OF
charge.
The hospital will be greatly enlarged.
This was found necessary to meet the
Increasing popularity of the institution
For some time il has been overcrowded.
IT is filled now to almost its greatest
capacity The addition Will be made
especially in the number OF private wares
Then 4 modern and hysieric operating
room will be added. This viii have the
usual floor and walls OF thing. \ modern
iilischen and large store-room VIII also
be added. The operating room Will be
provided wiE, a sky-light. TO give the
/ surgeons more light for their delicate
work.
] T:ic location OF this hospital is most
4 desire. bic. II is beautiful resting upon an
| elevation overlooking the Rappahannock
Rivcr. 1T was the hope OF the ladies 10
have these improvements made at once
This will be impossible now, from the
fact that the hospital is so full of pa
tients that they cannot be removed, there
Icing no place to take them. The sound
of the saw and the hammer will be heard,
f,owevcr. in the spring. 1t is expected
that With the opening of the weather the
number of patients Will not be so large
that they cannot be provided for.
Tfc officers of the hospital are: Mrs.
Y. NJ. Fleming president: Mrs. j. S. Dill,
wife of DR. Dill. formerly of this city,
secretary, and Miss Janetta Fitzhugh,
treasurer.
The improvements beng made at West
over by the new owners. MIR. and Mrs
Ramsey. are progressing nicely Captain
Dimmcck goes down about once IN every
fortnight to look after the work when
is being done BIZ the Richmond contractor.
Mr. J. T. Wilson With his accustomed
enterprise Mr. Wilson is pushing this
work, and the place is beginning ALREADY
to look well under his efforts.
Westovcr is not being rebuilt in the ac-
cepted sense. 1T is not the wish of Mr.
and Mrs. Ramsey to change the old place,
or in the least destroy its histcric lrte'e"-'
On the other hand, their sole desire Is to
find out the true condition Of the line
home in the days Of its first master, Viii
liam Byrd, the greatest Of the three OF
that name and that one who founded
Richmond. and knowing this. restore 1t
to what it was then. The impression has
gotten out that this was not the case
and scores OF letters have been written
TO Mrs. Ramsey protesting against 1T
The plastering, which had suffered
much in late year has already been re-
stored. The interior, indeed, of the entire
mansion has been overhauled and much
OF i;s pristine beauty and quaintness as
well as grandeur, rescued from the decay
of passing Years.
on the west of the house is a wing.
and further out from the wing and on a
line with it is the ancient kitchen. Not
in the memory of man has there been an
east wing.
when Captain Dimmock first began to
study the house with view to restoring
it, he was struck with the architectural
Beauty of it. He wondered, however,
why the east wing was not built In
fact. he came to the conclusion that it
must have been erected and in some way
torn down. He asked the oldest people
round about but none had ever heard OF
this east wing. The old servants in the
neighoorhood said positively that there
had been none. Captain Dimmocll was
not convinced. He searched what records
he could get his hands on. but found
nothing about that east wing. He was
not yet satisfied. He put the worklnen
to digging where the east wing must have
been il the architect who planned the
s,ousc knew his business, and he GER
tainly did, judging from the rest of the
mansion. lie was not in the least sur
prised to have the foundations of the
vanished wing revealed. The stables OF
the fine old gjlace are also TO be rebuilt
Mrs. Ramsey is already at MISSIONER.
Her husband has not yet joined her, not
having closed up his business in Califor-
mia. He will come later on. Mrs. ham
sey is now living in the overseers lodge.
which has just been erected. She moved
into the humber house to give the man
sion over te the builders.
The new Chimhorazo Hospital to be
erected next spring on Church Hill Will
soon be engaging the builders and archi-
tccts of the city. Already the members
OF the company of physicians who arc
promoting the hospital have seen some
of the architects OF the city in regard TO
the hospital. The ground for the building
has been purchased and the delay in
erecting the hosr eai itself will be as little
as practicable. lt is the purpose OF the
hospital managers TO run an ambulance
in connection with the hospital. They
have. through DR.. II. d. Garcin. asked
U,srmission of the Council to do this.
The matter will come before the Finance
Committee at the next regular meeting.
The Grove-Avenue Baptist Church build
ing is nearing completion. For some time
the SundaS-school room has been occu-
pied by the congregation The main aud
forum is now nearly complete The
painters are at work inside. The church