Evening star., 1946-04-21
BY John Clagett Proctor

the District, now in Its 18th year,
and review of its history and
the conditions which brought about its
establishment emphasizes what a god
send it was to the people of the COM
munity.
The site was once cemetery for free
colored persons, known as Free Young
Mems Cemetery. Some tombstones were
encountered when excavation began for
the present central building. Here the
poorer children went for simple dental
care, for vaccination, the setting of
broken limbs and treatment of the
myriad ills of childhood, but principally
for dispensary privileges.
To DR.. Samuel Clagett Busey, in
charge of the department of diseases
of infancy and childhood, established
in 1869 by the Columbia Hospital dis
pensary. is given credit for realizing
that this dispensary could not properly
treat many of the cases brought there,
and so, in 1870, he interested DR.. Francis
A. Ashford in providing for children's
hospital.
They took into their counsels Drs. Will
liam w. Johnson. and also were able
to interest the Board Of Lady Managers
Of the Washington City Orphan Asylum
The asylum managers appointed Mes
danes L. P. Lee, J. Zeilin, w. Stickney,
J. G.. Harkness, A. G. Brown, A. E.
Perry, H. P. Reynolds and Miss Mar
garet Washington. They all held a
conference at the home of Mrs A. j.
Brown, where Misses Virginia and Sally
c. Miller and Miss M. L. Thompson
were also present, as were DR.. James
c. Hall, Thomas Miller, c. H. Leiber-
man and Grafton Taylor. DR.. William
P. johnson was the one most inter-
ested in perfecting the organization,
according to DR.. Busey.
The hospital was incorporated on De-
cember 2, 1870, under the name of the
Children's Hospital of the District of
Columbia, and IA years later, on June
"a, 1884, the charter was amended, so
as to give the hospital practically un-
limited corporate existence, since the
amended certificate extended its life for
100 years
DR.. Hall, one of the founders, was one
OF its principal benefactors III health
prevented him from taking any office
but he contributed literally, and finally,
IN 1887, bequeathed to the hospital an
estate which yields an income of about
$4,000 per annum.
Original directors of the Childrens
Hospital numbered 21, six of whom were
physicians. OF the original board. the
following constituted the consulting
medical staff: DR.. Hall, Grafton Taylor
Thomas Miller, C. H Leibermann and
William P. johnson. The attending
physicians were Drs. Busey, Ashford,
Drinkard and w. w johnson. The
resident staff included DR.. Ralph Bell
house physician; Dr. c. w. v. Hick-
man, assistant, and Miss A. o. Mac
gruder, matron, Mrs. M w. Gait headed
the Board of Lady Visitors.
Hospital Had Capacity
Of II Patients at Start
The original hospital was on the
corner of Thirteenth and F streets NV.
It's capacity was u beds. In 1872, an
old colonial house on the south side
of E, near Ninth street, was acquired,
but within three years the demand
for admission to the Children's Hos
pital had increased so much that the
directors resolved to build. The present
site, bounded by V and w and Twelfth
and Thirteenth streets, containing 98268
square feet, was purchased for is cents
a foot-S15,722 Building plans we're
well advanced before 1875 had passed.
In 1878 the central, or administra-
ton bpilding, and the east wing, were
erected at a total cost of $23 662 %.
Congress appropriated $4,000 A west
wing was added in 1890, and the GEN.
trail building also enlarged, at cost
of $4,000.
Two additional wings, running north
and south, were built in 1901, at a
cost of 100000, of which the Gov
eminent, contributed $4,000. The new
wings provided private rooms for nay
patients. An infants welfare station
was built in 1922, at a cost of $4,000,
and a. surgical building in 1924 at a
cost of $250,000. The new buildings
relieved the pressure and made it pos
sible to adapt the upper floors for use
as nurses home and quarters for
the staff
OF course, the hospital has grown
In Importance and responsibility, and
is recognized as being the only hos
pital south of Philadelphia operated
exclusively for children. In the last
year $3.50 patients were given 71O97
days of hospital care, 21,458 visits to
the dispensary, 6,175 visits to the child
welfare department, l2.947 x-ray ex-
aminatlons and treatments, 1886 labo-
ratory tests and 5216 operations, or
an average of more than IA a day.
AS the writer recalls the territory in
the neighborhood of the Children's Hos
pltal, when he was quite young, there
was but one house north of w street.
between Florida avenue and Tenth
street. That was the home of Harry
White, a colored man, who once played
the violin for Prof. Carusis dancing
pupils. There were no structures be-
tween Tenth and Eleventh streets. the
square having been used for a dump.
1t is now occupied by the Capital Transit
Co. On the west side of Eleventh street,
there were only few houses, and the
same condition prevailed on the east
side of Twelfth street.
On the south side of Florida avenue.