This section of the library is dedicated to the 118-year history of St. Paul Hospital. Originally named St. Paul Sanitarium, the institution started out on Bryan Street in east Dallas. First operating out of a small cottage in 1896, and opening its new hospital doors in 1898, the sanitarium was established by the Daughters of Charity with the intent to help maintain a base level of care for Dallas’ growing population. In 1900, St. Paul’s School of Nursing was opened on the hospital grounds. Early on, sisters would visit patients in their own homes and bring items like food and clothing, in addition to medicine, to improve their overall quality of life. Free clinics were later opened as extensions of the hospital in other neighborhoods in Dallas. These clinics continued the work started by the sisters, providing food and clothing to those in need in addition to routine medical care. 

St. Paul Hospital was at the center of several historic events. The institution was a key defense during the 1918 influenza pandemic. Forty-five tents were erected on site to facilitate a larger reach of patient care, primarily of the sick soldiers from nearby Camp Dick. Later, the hospital was the first facility in Dallas to integrate their facility, admitting an African-American intern in 1953, and giving black doctors courtesy privileges as early as 1954. This was followed by the admission of black students to the School of Nursing in 1955, staffing of black physicians in 1956, and full de-segregation in 1959. 

In 1963, a new facility was opened on Harry Hines Boulevard and all 112 patients were moved in only five hours. A feat that mirrored the great fire of 1951, when all 250 patients and employees present were evacuated from the old hospital successfully. The move to the new facility was in part due to the growing partnerships in the Medical District along Harry Hines, and at UT Southwestern Medical Center. After decades of growth and collaboration UTSW bought St. Paul Hospital in 2005, fully cementing St. Paul’s place as part of UTSW’s Medical Center. After all of their innovations and historic firsts, St. Paul Hospital ended it’s time in Dallas in 2014. That year patients and staff were transferred to the new William P. Clements Jr. University Hospital and in 2015, St. Paul University Hospital was demolished.

Next time you’re on South Campus, stop by the Library (E2.200) and view the Special Collection and Archives’ additions to the Library’s permanent exhibits. Depicted in the image below are:

(A) Disease Case Studies Ledger from Bellevue Hospital by Edward H. Cary, M.D. 1898-1899. MSS0032. History of Medicine Collection.

(B) Draft sketch for the David Novros fresco in Gooch Auditorium. MSS0067. Medical Artifacts Collection. – Note: This is one of Library’s newest additions, which came from the Dallas Museum of Art.

(C) Ernest Poulos, M.D., bust, portrait, and a group picture and letter from the dedication of the bust. MSS0068. Department of Surgery Collection. – Note: The bust was made in 1996, and the photo features the chief residents who were under Dr. Poulos in 1989.

(D) Edward H. Cary, M.D., bust. MSS0067. Medical Artifacts Collection. – Note: The bust was made in 1929 and presented to Dr. Cary by the Baylor University College of Medicine.

(E) Painted and glazed fireplace tiles. 1890. MSS0030. St. Paul Hospital Collection. – Note: When the hospital was built in the late 1890s, heat was provided by both radiators and fireplaces.

(F) Assorted ceramic apothecary jars. 1930-1959. MSS0077. Leon A. Harris Apothecary Jars Collection.