*This article is thanks to the Logan County History Center
By: Mary E. Mortimer
Before Mary Rutan Hospital opened in 1919, Bellefontaine had several small private hospitals where community physicians and surgeons could operate and see patients. One of the earliest was the Hamer Hospital, which opened in 1899.
William W. Hamer was born in Champaign County in 1851. He attended school in DeGraff and received a degree from Ohio Wesleyan University. Hamer then began medical studies at Butler University. After Hamer obtained his medical degree in 1881, he moved to Quincy and opened a medical practice. A short time later, Dr. Hamer established an office in DeGraff where he partnered with Dr. Elmer E. Curl and practiced for eight years.
By the time Dr. Hamer opened the Hamer Hospital at 127 E. Columbus Ave. in April 1899, he had gained recognition as a physician and surgeon, and he wanted to help more people by opening a hospital. The upper story of the building was used for hospital purposes, and the first floor was rented by Drs. Pool and Stinchcomb. Miss Minnie Taylor, of East Liberty and a graduate of the Nashville, Tennessee, School of Nursing, was hired as the hospital administrator.
By June 1899, it was announced that all the hospital beds were full and five successful surgeries had been performed. In April 1901, Dr. Hamer, along with Drs. Covington, Stinchcomb, Pool, and Carrie Richeson performed a rare cesarean operation to save the life of Mrs. Pat Tynan and her son. Dr. Hamer went into partnership with Bellefontaine native, Dr. Simon Morgenroth, in May 1900.
In mid-1901, Dr. Hamer purchased the former home of Judge William Lawrence at the corner of N. Main and High St. for the purpose of remodeling the home for a sanitarium. The new Hamer Hospital was opened in November 1901. The former Hamer Hospital building continued to be known as “Doctors Row” with Drs. Chalfant, Harbert, Connor, Stinchcomb, and Pool renting office space. Dr. Hefner was “a stone’s throw away.”
The Hamer Hospital offered seventeen beds with well-lit and ventilated rooms. The operating room and sterilization room, located on the upper level,l were reached by elevator. The basement was utilized for baths, massage, electrical treatments, and “hot air treatment for rheumatism”.
The Bellefontaine Sanitarium Co. received a charter in May 1903. The company, composed of several physicians and citizens, controlled the Hamer Hospital. In 1904, Dr. Simon Morgenroth moved to Akron to start a new practice. In January 1906, the Hamer Hospital closed due to a lack of support. Dr. Hamer continued to practice medicine and surgery with his son-in-law, Dr. Edward R. Henning.
The Leonard Hospital was located next to the Hamer Hospital on E. Columbus Ave. at the current site of the Holland Theatre. Sisters, Mrs. Mell Lane and Mrs. Bert Bash, opened the hospital in 1909 in the home of their grandmother, Sarah Bryant Leonard. Mrs. Leonard had served as a caregiver for the sick for many years. The hospital included an operating room and wards in addition to sitting and dining rooms. There was no head physician, and it was only in operation for a few years.
In 1912, Miss Wilhemina Aiken, a graduate nurse of the Presbyterian Hospital in Cincinnati, opened a general hospital on the second floor of a home at 107 E. Sandusky Ave. The hospital featured an operating room, two private rooms, and a large wardroom.
The furniture was all white, and a telephone was in the hallway for physicians and nurses in case of a serious illness. The first floor had a reception room for family and friends who wished to be near their loved ones in the hospital. Aiken was also one of the organizers of the Logan County Nurses’ Association in 1913. She operated the hospital until 1918, when she accepted a job as the head nurse of Mary Rutan Hospital. Sadly, Aiken passed away before the hospital opened in 1919.
Dr. John P. Harbert opened the Harbert Hospital in 1920 for ear, nose, and throat patients at 135 N. Main St. Dr. Harbert was a native of Hardin County and an 1888 graduate of the Medical College in Cincinnati. During college, he carried out extra studies in eye, ear, nose, and throat work at Cincinnati General Hospital. He went on to become a respected ophthalmologist and lecturer before returning to Bellefontaine.
The Harbert Hospital was very successful in treating local patients and drew many from across the state and other areas. Dr. Harbert retired in 1943 and closed the hospital. Standard Oil purchased the former hospital property and razed the building in 1966. They also owned the adjoining property to the north.
Mary Rutan Hospital opened in March 1919. The hospital exists today because of the generosity of Mrs. Rebecca Rutan Williams, the only child of William and Mary Magruder Rutan. In 1913, Mrs. Williams donated her 880-acre farm near Ridgeway to the City of Bellefontaine with the agreement that the proceeds from the sale of the property would be used to build a new hospital in Bellefontaine. She also requested that the hospital be named in memory of her mother, Mary Rutan. At the same time, she also gave Bellefontaine the land tracts that are now Rutan Park.
For more than 100 years, Mary Rutan Hospital has served the medical needs of the people of Logan and the surrounding counties. In addition, the Mary Rutan Foundation has given back to the community through scholarships to local medical students and given grants to local organizations.
Visit the Logan County History Center at 521 E. Columbus Ave., Bellefontaine, Ohio 43311, to learn more interesting aspects of Logan County History. The History Center is open for tours Wednesday – Sunday from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm. Admission is free.
Our history articles are also available on the History Center Blog page at www.loganhistory.org/blog.
