Doctors Hospital became the first osteopathic hospital in Columbus in 1939. It was started by three osteopathic physicians. Through the efforts of the Women’s Auxiliary in 1941, steam food conveyors were installed, soundproofing was added to the first and second floors and the old iron beds were replaced. Several buildings were added to the original house from 1944 through the 1960s.
Month: June 2011
Columbus Radium Hospital, c. 1920s
Columbus Radium Hospital began in 1920 on the site previously occupied by Protestant Hospital. Bed capacity was 25 with approximately 6 beds for emergency. Its goal was to be the only free clinic of its kind between New York and Chicago. Drs. Edward Reinhert, U. K. Essington, E. H. Chapen and R. R. Kahle made up the staff. They treated patients with radium and provided x-ray observations. In 1938 this hospital became Doctors Hospital.
St. Marys of the Springs
St. Marys of the Springs
In 1830 four members of the Dominicans started St. Mary’s Academy, one of the first Catholic schools in Ohio. This Academy offered education to pioneer children of Catholics and non-Catholics.
In 1866, a devastating fire consumed the St. Mary’s Academy buildings. The sisters occupied borrowed space for two years until Theodore Leonard, a Columbus businessman who had five daughters to educate, offered the sisters land and bricks on his old brickyard if they would build an academy in Columbus. The sisters founded St. Mary’s Academy in Columbus in 1868. Bishop Rosecrans suggested the name change to St. Mary of the Springs to reflect the preponderance of natural springs on the property. The Academy operated in its new Columbus location until its closing in 1966.
In addition to the Academy, the Dominican Sisters founded and implemented plans to establish the College of Saint Mary of the Springs, the predecessor to Ohio Dominican University, in 1911. The College of Saint Mary of the Springs formally opened in 1924, as a Catholic women’s college in Columbus, Ohio. In 1964, the College allowed men to enroll. Then in 1968 the College of Saint Mary of the Springs became Ohio Dominican College. Due to increased growth, Ohio Dominican College became Ohio Dominican University in 2002.
McKinley Hospital opened in March 1921 in the former Neil-Dennison home, located along North Park Street. The typical room had brown mahogany furniture, which replaced the traditional white hospital furniture. The hospital had 50 single patient rooms. The six-story building was designed after the “ward-less” concept, which was intended to make patients and visitors feel like they had entered a well-conducted home.
© 2026 The Ohio State University - University Libraries
1858 Neil Avenue Mall, Columbus, OH 43210
Phone: (614) 292-OSUL (6785)
Request an alternate format of this page | Accessibility | Privacy Policy | Contact Us |
Recent Comments