List of U.S. Marine Hospitals explained

This is a list of U.S. Marine Hospitals and Public Health Service Hospitals that operated during the system's existence from 1798 to 1981. The primary beneficiary of the hospitals were civilian mariners known as the Merchant Marine, although they had other beneficiaries at various times; the system was unrelated to the U.S. Marine Corps.

The Marine Hospital Fund was founded in 1798;[1] it was reorganized into the Marine Hospital Service in 1871 and renamed the U.S. Public Health Service in 1912. The hospital system became part of the Public Health Service's Bureau of Medical Services when it was created in 1943. The number of major hospitals peaked at thirty in 1943, and declined to nine in 1970. The system was abolished in 1981. Many of the hospitals were transferred to other organizations and are still in use as a variety of purposes, including as hospitals, offices, apartments, and historical sites.

History

The Marine Hospital Fund was founded in 1798. Although the system was funded and largely operated by the federal government, they were locally managed with little centralized oversight, and with many positions filled through political patronage. In 1871, it was reorganized into a centralized administration, the Marine Hospital Service, led by the Surgeon General and staffed by a Commissioned Corps of officers.

As of 1873, 31 Marine Hospitals had been built by the government, of which 10 remained in operation: Chelsea, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Louisville, Mobile, Pittsburgh, Portland, St. Louis, and Key West. Of the rest, fourteen were sold, one was transferred to the War Department, one abandoned, one burned, one destroyed by a flood, one by a hurricane, one was damaged by an earthquake and abandoned; one remained unfinished due to its completion being impracticable.[2]

Over the late nineteenth century, the Marine Hospital Service was given authority over domestic and foreign quarantine functions, and expanded into other public health activities. In 1899 it formed internal divisions for the first time, with the Division of Hospitals administering the hospital system. The Marine Hospital Service changed its name to the Public Health Service (PHS) in 1912.[3]

At the end of World War I, PHS instituted a numbering system for hospitals, with numbers 1–23 assigned alphabetically to major Marine Hospitals that were operating or recently closed, with higher numbers going to a large number of new Public Health Service Hospitals at facilities transferred from the U.S. Army. Many of these new hospitals were transferred in 1922 to the newly created Veterans Bureau, which assumed responsibility for veterans' health benefits from the PHS.[4]

Beginning in the late 1920s and continuing through the New Deal era, a significant building campaign upgraded several hospitals into large, monumental buildings, in contrast with the smaller buildings common for the 19th-century buildings.[5] By 1936, hospitals were divided into first-class Marine Hospitals, plus second- through fourth-class hospitals.

In 1943, PHS collected its divisions into three operating agencies, and the Division of Hospitals became part of the Bureau of Medical Services.[6] That year, the hospital system had reached its peak of 30 hospitals.[7] In 1951, all hospitals were redesignated Public Health Service Hospitals. As of 1957, the Division of Hospitals operated 13 hospitals, 24 outpatient clinics, plus two neuropsychiatric hospitals and the National Leprosarium, and contracted with 155 other locations.[8] In 1965, there were 12 general hospitals and the 3 special hospitals.[9]

During the PHS reorganizations of 1966–1973, The Bureau of Medical Services was broken up, and the Division of Hospitals became the Federal Health Programs Service, and then in 1973 became a different Bureau of Medical Services within the Health Services Administration.[10]

The system came under pressure for closure starting in the late 1970s, as healthcare needs for sailors were dwindling, and healthcare for veterans was being taken over by the Veterans Administration. The PHS hospital system was finally abolished during the Reagan administration in 1981, with the last eight general hospitals transferred to other organizations.[11] The federal government would however continue to operate the National Leprosarium until 1999.

List

The start year indicates when the hospital opened or was acquired by MHS/PHS. The end year indicates when the hospital was closed, converted to a clinic, or transferred to another organization. This list emphasizes hospitals considered major at some point in the system's history; there were also very many hospitals of lower statuses.[12]

!Photo!Location!Start!End!Status!Notes!Refs

East Coast

Portland, Maine18591952ExtantIn use as private medical facility; see United States Marine Hospital (Portland, Maine)[13] [14] [15]
Boston, Massachusetts/
Chelsea, Massachusetts
18001804The first Marine Hospital established; temporary location in rebuilt barracks at Castle Island[16] [17] [18] [19] [20]
18041825DemolishedAt Charlestown Navy Yard; transferred to the Navy and demolished
18251827Temporary rented facility in Charlestown
18271857DestroyedIn Chelsea; after being sold, it was used as the Hawthorne School and then burned in the 1908 Chelsea fire.
18571940ExtantBuilt near Chelsea Naval Hospital; in use as apartments
19401981ExtantIn Brighton; in use as private hospital facility
Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts18791952ExtantIn use as Martha's Vineyard Museum[21]
Newport, Rhode Islandca. 1802May have been temporary[22]
Stapleton, Staten Island, New York18311981ExtantNotable for the 1858 Staten Island Quarantine War at a satellite location, and being the birthplace of the National Institutes of Health in 1887[23] [24]
1930s1981ExtantIn use as Bayley Seton Hospital
Neponsit, Queens, New York19451950ExtantNeponsit Beach Hospital
leased from City of New York and replaced by Manhattan Beach hospital
Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn, New York19501960[25]
Ellis Island, New York19021951ExtantSee Ellis Island Immigrant Hospital
Cape Henlopen, Delaware18941903
Baltimore, Maryland18871981Extant[26]
19341981ExtantBecame a private hospital, now in use as an academic building for Johns Hopkins University
Washington, D.C.19401961–
1967
ExtantFreedmen's Hospital; previously operated by Department of the Interior; became Howard University Hospital[27] [28]
Washington, D.C.19401968ExtantSee St. Elizabeths Hospital. Opened 1855 and was operated by the U.S. Army and then the Department of the Interior, transferred to PHS in 1940, and then to the National Institute of Mental Health in 1968; the eastern half of the campus is now operated by the District of Columbia, while the western half is now the headquarters of the Department of Homeland Security[29]
Norfolk, Virginia18001860sDemolishedBuilt in 1787 by the State of Virginia, transferred to the federal government in 1800, sold off shortly after the Civil War, demolished in 1933 [30] [31]
19221981ExtantIn use as U.S. Navy Lafeyette River Annex
Portsmouth, North Carolina1847Abandoned before 1869[32]
Wilmington, North Carolina18811898Constructed in 1860 but taken over by the Confederacy, and later became first site of Wilmington City Hospital; repurchased and used as Marine Hospital[33] [34]
18981918Converted to PHS laboratory
Charleston, South Carolina1833ExtantNRHP-listed. See United States Marine Hospital (Charleston, South Carolina)[35]
Savannah, Georgia19061969ExtantIn use as Bradley Hall of Savannah College of Art and Design
San Juan, Puerto Rico1952

Gulf Coast

Key West, Florida18451943Extant[36]
St. Marks, Florida1859ca. 1861DemolishedMuseum currently exists on its site at San Marcos de Apalache Historic State Park
Pensacola, FloridaFirst planned in 1840s and 1850s but never built
Mobile, Alabama18431952ExtantBecame Class II hospital after Civil War; NRHP-listed. See United States Marine Hospital (Mobile, Alabama)
New Orleans, Louisiana18471858DestroyedAbandoned after floods; destroyed in 1861 explosion[37]
N/AN/ADemolishedBuilding partially constructed but never used as Marine Hospital; later used as insane asylum; hospital operated out of several temporary locations
18831933DemolishedDemolished and replaced with current building on same site
19331981Extant
Galveston, Texas/
Nassau Bay, Texas
1931[38] [39] [40]
1970s1981ExtantNassau Bay hospital opened in 1972 as a private hospital, but went bankrupt a few years later and was taken over by PHS, replacing the Galveston hospital; became Houston Methodist Clear Lake Hospital
Fort Worth, Texas19381967ExtantNarcotics hospital; now Federal Medical Center, Fort Worth

Mississippi River

Carville, Louisiana19211999ExtantNational Leprosarium; became NRHP-listed Carville Historic District[41]
Natchez, Mississippi18521867DestroyedLeased out after Civil War; became Natchez City Hospital; burned down in 1984
Vicksburg, Mississippi18561870Demolished
Napoleon, Arkansas1855ca. 1861DestroyedDestroyed by flood in 1868. See Napoleon Marine Hospital
Memphis, Tennessee18841965ExtantNRHP-listed; now Metal Museum[42] [43]
19371965Extant
St. Louis, Missouri/
Kirkwood, Missouri
18581939DemolishedLarger building constructed adjacent in 1882; demolished in 1959[44] [45]
19391952Demolished
Cairo, Illinois18861919Demolished
Galena, Illinois18611868ExtantLater used as school and private residence
Burlington, Iowa18581865Demolished

Ohio River

Paducah, Kentucky18521861DestroyedDuring the Civil War, Fort Anderson was constructed around the hospital building, which burned in 1862
Evansville, Indiana18561867DemolishedDemolished around 1912
18921947DemolishedDemolished early 1980s
Louisville, Kentucky18521946ExtantNRHP-listed. See United States Marine Hospital (Louisville, Kentucky)[46]
19331946Extant
Cincinnati, Ohio18601860DemolishedBecame a military hospital upon completion and was never used as a Marine Hospital, later used by Good Samaritan Hospital; demolished ca. 1970. See United States Marine Hospital (Cincinnati)[47] [48] [49] [50]
18821905DemolishedLocated in former Kilgour Mansion, built around 1815; in 1912 it was reopened as PHS Stream Pollution Investigations Station. See United States Marine Hospital (Cincinnati)
Lexington, Kentucky19351967ExtantNarcotics hospital; now Federal Medical Center, Lexington
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania18511875DemolishedDemolished in late 1880s[51] [52]
19091949ExtantConverted to clinic, now occupied by Allegheny County Health Department's Frank B. Clack Health Center; part of NRHP-listed Lawrenceville Historic District. See United States Marine Hospital (Pittsburgh)

Great Lakes

Burlington, Vermont18581866DestroyedNever used due to lack of patients; became Home for Destitute Children; burned down in 1893
Buffalo, New York19091949Extant
Cleveland, Ohio18521929DemolishedSold to Pennsylvania Railroad in 1929 and demolished[53] [54]
19291953
Detroit, Michigan18571930DemolishedMain building demolished in 1962; 1933 building on site NRHP-listed as U.S. Immigration Station Detroit[55] [56]
19301969DemolishedDemolished in 1984
Chicago, Illinois18521864DestroyedAt Fort Dearborn; sold; burned down in 1871 Great Chicago Fire[57]
18731965DemolishedDemolished for Disney Magnet School

Western U.S.

Port Townsend/Port Angeles, Washington
18551858Privately built and operated[58] [59] [60]
18581893DestroyedOriginally privately built and operated under contract; purchased by government in 1883; burned down
18621866DestroyedRelocated to Port Angeles; destroyed by flood and restored to Port Townsend
18961933DemolishedDemolished in 1971
Seattle, Washington19331981ExtantReplaced Port Townsend hospital; transferred to City of Seattle and became Pacific Tower[61] [62] [63]
San Francisco, California18541868DemolishedAt Rincon Point; damaged by the 1868 Hayward earthquake and temporarily abandoned; later used as Sailor's Home and demolished in 1920s [64] [65]
18751932On the Presidio of San Francisco
19321981ExtantOn the Presidio of San Francisco; reopened as apartments in 2010. See Public Health Service Hospital (San Francisco)
Fort Stanton, New Mexico18981953ExtantTuberculosis sanatorium; created from former Fort Stanton; NRHP-listed
Lahaina, Hawaii18441862DestroyedSee United States Marine Hospital (Lahaina, Hawaii)[66]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: en-US . U.S. Public Health Service Hospital (Marine Hospital) Archives, 1874–1996 . . 2024-07-04 . n.d..
  2. Book: Annual Report of the Supervising Surgeon General of the Marine Hospital Service of the United States. 1873. U.S. Marine Hospital Service. 18. en.
  3. Web site: 2016-08-15. Records of the Public Health Service [PHS], 1912-1968]. 2020-09-15. National Archives. en.
  4. Web site: 2018-08-06. VA History. 2020-09-21. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. en.
  5. Web site: Burke. Eleanor S.. 2015-05-22. Designation Report: 210 State Street. 2020-09-20. City of New Orleans.
  6. Web site: 1943. Reorganization and functions of the Public Health Service. live. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Reorganization_and_functions_of_the_Public_Health_Service_..._Report._-To_accompany_S._400-_(IA_reorganizationfu00unit).pdf. 2020-09-09. 2020-09-15. United States Senate. 4–6. Internet Archive.
  7. Book: Public Health Service Hospital Closings. 1965. U.S. House of Representatives. 3. en.
  8. Book: Executive Reference Book (Public Health Service Portion). U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. 1957. 4–19.
  9. Book: Handbook on programs of the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. 1965.
  10. Web site: 2016-08-15. Records of the Health Resources and Services Administration [HRSA]]. 2020-08-29. National Archives. Section 512.2. en.
  11. Driscoll. Robert S.. 1986-02-01. What Happened to the U.S. Public Health Service Hospital?. Military Medicine. en. 151. 2. 128–129. 10.1093/milmed/151.2.128. 3083292. 0026-4075. free.
  12. Book: Annual Report of the Surgeon General of the Public Health Service of the United States. 1936. U.S. Government Printing Office. 114ff. en.
  13. Book: Annual report of the Supervising Surgeon-General of the Marine Hospital Service of the United States. 1872. U.S. Government Printing Office. 7–21. en.
  14. Web site: United States. Public Health Service. Division of Hospitals. 2020-08-31. SNAC.
  15. Book: Annual report of the Supervising Surgeon-General of the Marine-Hospital Service of the United States for the fiscal year 1897. 1899. U.S. Government Printing Office. 299–329. en.
  16. Book: Bureau of Medical Services. 1980. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. . 2020-06-29. live.
  17. Book: Annual Report of the Surgeon General of the Public Health Service of the United States. 1921. U.S. Public Health Service. 274, 294ff. en.
  18. Web site: About. 2020-09-20. Brighton Marine. en-US.
  19. Web site: Morgan. Keith N.. 2018-07-17. Chelsea Marine Hospital. 2021-03-10. SAH ARCHIPEDIA. en.
  20. Web site: 1940. The United States Marine Hospital, port of Boston: an account of its origin and briefly of its history and of the physicians who have been in charge. 2020-09-20. U.S. National Library of Medicine.
  21. Web site: February 2019. MV Museum Quarterly: Special Marine Hospital Issue. 2021-07-28. Martha's Vineyard Museum.
  22. Jensen. J.. 1997-11-01. Before the Surgeon General: marine hospitals in mid-19th-century America. Public Health Reports. 112. 6. 525–527. 0033-3549. 1381932. 10822481.
  23. http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nyrichmo/history.shtml Top 100 Historical Events in Staten Island, Richmond County, NY
  24. News: October 20, 1991. Clifton Hospital's Former Staff Holds Dinner for 10th Reunion Recalling Times at Public Health. Staten Island Advance.
  25. Web site: MOEN v. ENDRESEN, (S.D.N.Y. 1952). 2020-09-20. www.casemine.com. en.
  26. Web site: Gunts. Ed. 2019-01-11. Former Baltimore Marine Hospital, once targeted for demolition, will now be renovated by Hopkins. 2021-03-10. Baltimore Fishbowl. en-US.
  27. Book: Transfer of Freedmen's Hospital: Hearing, Eighty-fifth Congress, Second Session, on S. 3626, August 7, 1958. 1958. U.S. Senate. 57. en.
  28. Book: Annual Report of the Federal Security Agency for the Fiscal Year. 1947. U.S. Government Printing Office. 346. en.
  29. Web site: Otto. Thomas J.. 2013-05-01. St. Elizabeths Hospital: A History. 2020-09-18. U.S. General Services Administration. 269, 306.
  30. Web site: McPhillips. Peggy Haile. United States Marine Hospital. 2020-09-20. Norfolk Public Library.
  31. Web site: Cook. Darrell E.. 2017-08-01. The demolition of Lafayette Rive Annex Building C. 2021-03-10. Atlantic Observer. en.
  32. Web site: Portsmouth Marine Hospital - Cape Lookout National Seashore. 2021-03-11. U.S. National Park Service. en.
  33. Web site: Steelman. Ben. 2010-08-30. What was the history of the Wilmington City Hospital?. 2021-03-11. Wilmington Star News.
  34. News: 1918-11-14. Marine Hospital has been converted into laboratory. 5. The Wilmington Morning Star. 2021-03-12.
  35. Tray Stephenson and Bernard Kearse. April 25, 1973. [{{NHLS url|id=73001690}} National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Old Marine Hospital]. pdf. National Park Service. and  
  36. Web site: Marine Hospital – Historic Walking Tour. 2020-09-18. Fun in Key West. 20 November 2017 .
  37. Web site: New Orleans Marine Hospital 1867 was Rammed Earth. 2020-09-20. Earth Architecture. 2 April 2008 . en-US.
  38. Web site: Images From the History of the Public Health Service: Disease Control and Prevention, Health Care for Seamen. 2020-09-20. U.S. National Library of Medicine.
  39. Book: Public Health Service Hospital Closings. 1972. U.S. House of Representatives. 4, 10. en.
  40. Web site: 2014-03-01. St. John Hospital now part of Houston Methodist. 2019-02-01. Bay Area Houston Magazine. en-US.
  41. Web site: History of the National Hansen's Disease (Leprosy) Program. 2011-07-27. HHS-Health Resources and Services Administration.
  42. Web site: Abandoned Southeast. 2016-05-16. U.S. Marine Hospital. 2020-09-28. Abandoned Southeast. en.
  43. Web site: MHI2016. 2018-04-04. U.S. Marine Hospital Executive Building and Laundry-Kitchen (listed in 1980). 2021-05-27. Memphis Heritage. en-US.
  44. Web site: Nicklemen. 2014-12-05. Marine Villa's Lost Marine Hospital. 2020-09-19. St. Louis History Blog. en.
  45. Web site: Naffziger. Chris. 2019-04-01. Old Marine Hospital. 2020-09-19. St. Louis Patina. en-US.
  46. Web site: Brooks. Carolyn. 1994-03-15. National Historic Landmark Nomination: United States Marine Hospital, Louisville, Kentucky. 2020-10-01. 24–36.
  47. Book: Furman, Bess. A Profile of the United States Public Health Service, 1798–1948. U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. 1973. 295–298. en.
  48. Book: Rogers, Gregory Parker. Cincinnati's Hyde Park: A Queen City Gem. 2010-09-24. Arcadia Publishing. 978-1-61423-166-0. 59–61. en.
  49. Rogers. Jerry R.. Symons. James M.. Sorg. Thomas J.. 2013-05-28. The History of Environmental Research in Cincinnati, Ohio: From the U.S. Public Health Service to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. World Environmental and Water Resources Congress 2013. en. American Society of Civil Engineers. 33–37. 10.1061/9780784412947.004. 978-0-7844-1294-7.
  50. Web site: 1990-04-01. Andrew W. Breidenbach Environmental Research Center. 2019-12-30. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 2–3.
  51. Web site: National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Lawrenceville Historic District. 2020-09-20. City of Pittsburgh. National Park Service. 37.
  52. Web site: Caruso. Stephen. 2018-03-19. A clash over how Allegheny County should spend millions collected from the region's polluters. 2020-09-20. PublicSource News for a better Pittsburgh. en-US.
  53. Web site: 2018-05-22. Encyclopedia of Cleveland History: U.S. Marine Hospital. 2021-03-11. Case Western Reserve University. en.
  54. Web site: History of the Structures and Grounds at Fairhill Partners . 2022-05-19 . Fairhill Partners.
  55. Web site: Austin. Dan. Marine Hospital. 2021-03-11. Historic Detroit.
  56. Web site: 2012-10-03. Detroit Station. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20140423103816/http://www.cbp.gov/border-security/along-us-borders/border-patrol-sectors/detroit-sector-selfridge-angb-michigan/detroit-station. 2014-04-23. 2021-03-11. U.S. Customs and Border Patrol.
  57. Miles. W. D.. 1970-06-01. Clinical instruction in marine hospitals in the 19th century. Public Health Reports . 85. 6. 471–477. 10.2307/4593883. 4593883. 0094-6214. 2031725. 4987766.
  58. Web site: U.S. Marine Hospital - Port Townsend. 2020-09-18. Washington Rural Heritage.
  59. Reed. Meribeth Meixner. April 2005. Describing the Life Cycle of U.S. Marine Hospital #17, Port Townsend, Washington, 1855–1933. Military Medicine. en. 170. 4. 259–267. 10.7205/MILMED.170.4.259. 15916290 . 0026-4075. free.
  60. Web site: Becker. Paula. 2007-07-24. Federal Maritime Quarantine Station for Puget Sound opens at Diamond Point in November 1893.. 2021-11-09. HistoryLink.
  61. Web site: Gordon, Karen. August 18, 1989. Report on Designation. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20140324140441/http://www4.seattle.gov/neighborhoods/preservation/documents/DesRptPacMedCtr_000.pdf. March 24, 2014. February 4, 2015. the City of Seattle Landmarks and Preservation Board.
  62. News: Kolerich. Kristina. November 25, 2001. Preserving the past: The PacMed Building is a structure that time won't forget. Puget Sound Business Journal. April 10, 2011.
  63. Web site: History. 2021-11-08. Pacific Hospital Preservation & Development Authority.
  64. https://web.archive.org/web/20071225124942/https://www.nps.gov/prsf/planyourvisit/public-health-service-hospital.htm Presidio of San Francisco - Public Health Service Hospital (U.S. National Park Service)
  65. News: King. John. July 6, 2010. S.F. hospital gets proper treatment in makeover. San Francisco Chronicle.
  66. Web site: HABS HI,5-LAHA,10- (sheet 1 of 5) - U. S. Marine Hospital, 1038 Front Street, Lahaina, Maui County, HI. 2020-09-19. www.loc.gov. en.