Webster City freeman. [volume] (Webster City, Hamilton County, Iowa) 1884-1946, 1914-06-23
BUILDING OF
MERCY HOSPITAL
Erected for Public Benefit by Jacob
M. Funk at Cost of Twenty
Five Thousand
Dollars.
BUILDING WAS ERECTED IN 1902
Methodists Conducted it for Time
Taken Over Later by the
Catholics.

From the History of Hamilton
County by F. @. and J. w. Lee:
In 1902, Jacob M. Funk, who has
been a resident of Webster City for
nearly fifty years, conceived the idea
OF founding hospital, and accord
lngly erected a fine, large brick
structure on tract of ground locat-
ed at the corner of Des Moines and
Ohio streets. The building was
planned especially for a hospital and
cost about $4,000. Mr.. Funk had
come to Webster City when there
were but one or two small buildings
IN the entire territory occupied by
the city, and he had been one of the
prime movers in the building of the
town. Until 1890, he had been in
terested in the building of nearly ev-
cry store building that had been
erected on Second street. He was
bachelor, and with him, the good of
MS town received attention and
concern such as the ordinary bust
ness man gives to his family. In
building the hospital, Mr.. Funk was
anxious to do some great permanent
good for his town and he naturally
looked for assistance, first, to the
great religious organizations, whose
chosen mission was to expound by
precept and example, the virtue and
morality and charity of the Christ
He finally chose from several appli-
cants, the northwest Iowa confer
ence Of the Methodist Episcopal
church, as the medium through
which this work of charity should
be transmitted to the people of his
beloved city.
Accordingly, while the hospital
building was in course of erection,
Jacob NJ. Funk conveyed it, and the
grounds, containing about three and
one-half acres, to the trustees of
Mercy hospital, Of northwest Iowa
conference of the Methodist church.
The deed provided that the grantees
should equip, use, operate and main
tain the same as modern hospital
for the care and treatment of per-
sons requiring medical or surgical
aid, without regard to sex, color, ma
tionality or religion, under such rea-
sonable rules as might be adopted by
the board of directors, and that one
fourth of the privileges and accom- !
modations of said hospital, to be !
designated by the management of
the hospital, should be free and ex-
tended to such persons as should be
unable to pay therefor.
The deed also provided that Jacob
M. Funk, L. A. McMurray and Cyrus I
Smith should constitute board of
directors, and that in case of the t
death or inability of either to serve, I
he should appoint his own successor, /
and in case such appointment was +
not so made, the district court e
should make it. That in case of the r
failure or inability of the Northwest (
Iowa conference to maintain said S
hospital as above stipulated, the
building and land should revert to c
the board of directors, who should
have power to reconvey it to some e
other society that would undertake
to fulfill the provisions of the grant q
or, as above set forth. The deed al =
SO provided that in the selection or
of any physician or
surgeon, no discrimination should be
made in favor of any particular
school or practice of medicine. The
deed is dated February %, 1903, and =
is recorded in Land Deed Record,
No SO, on page 564, of the records
Of Hamilton county, Iowa.
Under the above conditions and
the Northwest Iowa
accepted the trust, and n
the operation of the hos
! N
it of those placed in charge, that
they labored earnestly and faithful N
ly to fulfill the trust in its fullest
sense. At this time, Jacob Funk N
was worth about half million dol
lars and had no direct heirs. Many
believed that he would make the
hospital his heir, and it was but nat n
pral that the Methodists should look n
forward in fond anticipation to the n
lay when the Funk fortune would be N
eft in the hands of the conference
or the use of the hospital. There n
s little doubt that Mr.. Funk intend NJ
ID to make some provision for the N