Historical Reflections: The Medical Heritage Center Blog

The Franklin County Hospital for Tuberculosis operated at the corner of Alum Creek Drive and Frebis Avenue from 1909 to 1972. The architects were Howard and Merriam. The hospital was designed to have a capacity of 100 beds and at some point housed 120 beds. The building was estimated to cost $80,000. In 1946 William L. Potts, MD served as the medical director. The hospital was planned to house patients in all stages of the disease and was one of the first buildings of this type designed to contain wards for children suffering from pulmonary tuberculosis.

The 77-acre military post known today as Fort Hayes was originally built and used as a federal arsenal to store and repair Ordinance Corps arms and to equip Ohio regiments called to duty during the Civil War. The land for Fort Hayes was purchased from Robert and Jannette Neil on February 17, 1863. The Neil’s were members of the same Neil family from whom the land to build The Ohio State University was later purchased.

The military base was called The Columbus Barracks from 1905 to December 1922, when it was named after Ohio governor and later president Rutherford B. Hayes.

Post Hospital (also known as Post Military Hospital) was part of the Columbus Barracks and opened in 1891, operating until about 1946.

Ohio State Penitentiary (Ohio Penitentiary Hospital)

Built in 1834, the Ohio Penitentiary was actually the second Ohio Penitentiary, the third state prison, and the fourth jail in early Columbus. Prison Hospital was a part of the upper corridor of the city prison and was set aside as a hospital by Prison Director Davis in 1900. In April 1955 it housed an all-time high of 5,235 prisoners. Most prisoners were removed from the prison by 1972 with the completion of the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility, and the facility was closed December 31, 1983. The state sold the Ohio Penitentiary to the City of Columbus in 1995. The 23-acre site, bounded by Maple, West and Spring Streets and Neil Avenue, is now part of the Nationwide Arena complex.

Grant Hospital, c.1904

Dr. James F. Baldwin began Grant Hospital in 1900 as a private hospital to serve the growing middle class. Three additions were added to the original building from 1904-1914. By 1904, Grant Hospital was considered the largest private hospital in the world with a bed count of 303.