Today in Archbold History: John D. Archbold Memorial Hospital is Dedicated

John D. Archbold Memorial Hospital was officially dedicated on June 30, 1925. As we celebrate Archbold’s 100^th birthday, we remember that day, the people who worked tirelessly to make the hospital a reality, and all of those who have worked to make Archbold the institution it is today.

In celebration of the 100^th anniversary of the dedication, Archbold is pleased to share a special excerpt from A Century of Healing: Centennial Reflections on the John D. Archbold Memorial Hospital. Written by C. L. Bragg, the book is a fascinating and detailed tribute to Archbold’s history and its people. 

The following passage from chapter six that details the festivities of Archbold’s official dedication and the excitement that permeated our community one hundred years ago today. 

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“All construction jobs take longer than predicted, and the hospital was no exception. But after more than two years of preparation and over a year of construction, the day for the dedication of the John D. Archbold Memorial Hospital arrived at eleven o’clock on the morning of June 30, 1925. An estimated 500 visitors attended, coming not just from Thomasville and Thomas County but from parts of Southwest Georgia and North Florida. The stores and businesses in town all closed that morning from 10:30 to 12:30 so that the owners and the employees could attend the festivities. According to the Thomasville Times-Enterprise, the sun shone intensely that morning, but the rising temperature did not dissuade those gathered from listening to the program with marked interest and attention.

A platform for the dignitaries had been erected on the balcony leading from the nurses’ home to the main building. “The balcony had been decorated with vines and flowers, making a perfect bower of beauty looking over the driveway and inner court, which had recently been sodded with Bermuda grass.”

After an invocation by the Rev. H.T. Freeman, the thirty-five members of the Thomasville Choral Society sang the first of two selections, a beautiful rendition of “Festival Te Deum.” The choristers “were stationed on a raised platform at the service entrance and were plainly heard throughout the grounds, people standing in the driveway and far beyond and in the grounds leading toward Redden Street [now Mimosa Drive].” 

Editor of the Thomasville Times-Enterprise Edward R. Jerger then presented the hospital to the community on behalf of Mr. Archbold, “tendering it in love and in the hope that would prove of benefit and great service to the people that the donor so loved.” Jack Archbold was not present; he was traveling at the time between Thomasville and New York. Perhaps it was from a sense of modesty that he chose to be away.

On behalf of some of Thomasville’s citizens, Dr. Arthur D. Little presented to the absent Mr. Archbold a wonderful portrait of his father, a duplicate by the artist Mary Foote of the original that she had previously painted for his New York office. Little, who was one of Jack’s closest friends, “took occasion to express great gratitude and love for the donor and respect and admiration for the character and benefactions of the man, whose portrait it is.” The newspaper noted that Mr. Little had been instrumental in assisting Mr. Archbold in making the hospital the institution it was, and Colonel Bevans, acting as master of ceremonies, appropriately expressed the community’s gratitude for his service. Eugene Wachendorff, who was also present, received due accolades for his architectural design.

Judge Hopkins, president of the corporation, accepted the gift of the hospital on behalf of the Board of Trustees and through them, on behalf of the people of Southwest Georgia and North Florida. In a fifteen-minute address, he declared that the hospital was one of the most magnificent and useful institutions that had ever been erected in Thomasville or Southwest Georgia, and he spoke eloquently and touchingly “of the character and interest of the donor, whose gift was unsolicited, an expression of a desire to benefit humanity and to give something to the betterment and the wholesomeness of human life.”

Judge Hopkins read a telegram from Gov. Clifford M. Walker expressing gratitude on behalf of the state and appointing Archbold as a member of the governor’s staff in recognition on the part of the state of his remarkable service to its people. The governor’s congratulatory telegram was just one of many sent that day, almost all of them sent to Jack’s New York address on Broadway to await his arrival there.

Following the benediction given by Rev. Robb White, Jr., and an offering of the “Hallelujah Chorus” by the Choral Society, Colonel Bevans announced that the hospital would be open for visitation throughout the day until ten o’clock that night. Hundreds of people toured the hospital from top to bottom, assisted by the members of the Board of Women. The building was in fine shape for public inspection; flowers of all kinds had been placed throughout the institution, and all the new implements and equipment were on display so that the visitors could readily see and understand their uses.

“Not only is this a gift of great monetary value by Mr. Archbold,” said the Times-Enterprise, “but it embodied many hours of his time and thought, when he labored unceasingly with architect, artist and artisan, going over the details, looking into every phase of its construction, selecting its equipment and advising with all agencies at work so as it make it an institution, which would be as near perfect as money and human brains could make it.”

After the ceremony, the doctors of the Thomas County Medical Society entertained themselves and about a hundred friends and family members who were present for the occasion. "Lunch was spread near the bandstand in Paradise Park and it was such a luncheon as doctors might be expected to spread, wholly unmindful of the force of appetite but deliciously prepared and in the greatest abundance. The menu had ample quantities of barbecue, great piles of fried chicken, Brunswick stew, salad, and dessert with cake.”

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If you have not already secured your copy of A Century of Healing, you can find it for sale in the Archbold Auxiliary Gift Shop at Archbold Memorial, The Bookshelf in Downtown Thomasville, and at The Thomasville History Center.

For more information, please visit www.archbold.org/100.