Gibson was appointed head nurse for $30.00 per month. James Heckman was appointed as janitor at a salary of $1.25 per day and Annie B. The important work of choosing a competent clinical and non-clinical staff began. Finally, in May of 1898, authorization to begin construction was granted.ĭuring the next several months as construction progressed, all committees involved were busy with raising funds, and choosing beds, pillows and furnishings. Only $11,000 had been raised, so a finance committee was appointed to raise the additional funds needed. Seisholtzville granite and buff brick with King of Prussia marble trim were the principle building materials. The plans called for a two and one-half story building sixty by eighty feet, and two wings each fifty-seven and one-half feet by one hundred and ninety-five feet, to be built at a cost of $30,000. Four sets of drawings were studied by the Board, and the 'English Colonial' style by Seymour Davis of Philadelphia was accepted. The land was purchased for $5,297.51 and was paid for by the Ladies Auxiliary.īy January 1898, architects were invited to submit drawings. Martin purchased the property and in March of 1897, transferred the deed to the Hospital Association. So, acting as individuals, Colonel Trexler, Henry Leh, Frank M. Unfortunately, the land was put up for sale with the stipulation it not be used to build a hospital. At the time, a very valuable piece of property was available - the Solomon Griesemer tract at the corner of Seventeenth and Chew Streets. Many sites were considered and all thoroughly investigated by the building committee. Next on the agenda was to find a suitable piece of land on which to build. Hunsicker.īy February of 1896, the Board was organized, the hospital chartered, and an active Ladies Auxiliary was founded. Those who would serve one year terms included: Judge Edward Harvey, the Reverend J.A. Members elected for two year terms included: Dr. The board members included the following men for three year terms: Dr. In December 1895, a Board of Trustees was elected from the membership of contributors. A formal organization was established in November of 1895 and membership was opened to anyone who contributed ten dollars at one time and five dollars annually during each succeeding year. Contributions from private citizens poured in. This time the idea of a new hospital took hold, and contributions from the Master Plumbers of Allentown and H.B. But in 1895, the project was again revived at a public meeting and the newspaper turned over $1,900.00 that it had collected through its efforts toward the building fund. If not for David Miller, publisher of The Allentown Morning Call who established the hospital fund and kept publicizing the project in the paper, it might never have succeeded. Unfortunately, the enthusiasm of the group was not strong and the hospital project lay idle for several years. A building committee and a rules committee were established, along with the establishment of a fund created by The Allentown Morning Call to collect donations to purchase the land and build the hospital. In January of 1893 a Board of Directors was named consisting of ten men and five women. On Decemthe group took steps to incorporate and obtain a hospital charter, naming it The Allentown Hospital. All were in agreement that a hospital was needed. The meeting was attended by several area physicians, merchants, educators and clergyman.

Lehr acted as chairman and proposed the establishment of a hospital. Lennon, asked the Mayor to call a public meeting to discuss the building of a hospital. In 1892, two councilmen, Winslow Wood and M.J. The establishment of the hospital in Allentown is a story in itself. The trolley line extended to Seventeenth Street and there were still four stage coach lines carrying mail and passengers to rural areas of the county. The city had four major hotels, many small taverns, sixteen livery stables, and four breweries. There were twenty-four physicians and eighteen dentists listed in the City Directory. The Police Department consisted of ten patrolmen and the semi-paid Fire Department consisted of eight volunteer companies with thirty-seven alarm boxes located throughout the city. The Mayor's salary was $1,019.44 per year and the Chief of Police received $917.50. The average yearly income of these industries was $845 for salaried employees and $360 for those employed at daily or hourly wages. It was a thriving and growing industrial area with 491 mechanical and manufacturing industries, capitalized at $11,996,971 and producing products valued at nearly 17 million dollars. When the Allentown Hospital first opened its doors in 1899, Allentown was a small city with about 35,000 people living within its borders.

Valley of war hospital