Former McDowell County hospital once the largest privately owned African American hospital in US
Why is Black History Month the shortest of the year?
After taking over a different hospital in Kimball, Dr. Henry Dismukes was tasked with building an even bigger hospital. This led to the opening of the Henrietta Dismukes Hospital in 1929, after he made a deal with the Bluefield Sanitorium.
In the deal, the Sanitorium was meant to pay $3.50 a day for each African American patient Dr. Dismukes treated.
This piece of history was lost for nearly a century, until a lady named Kristin Overstreet did some digging.
'This hospital was very remarkable for its time. It had 50 beds, had radios and private rooms. It had state of the art equipment. So, this black doctor devoted his career and his life to making this a great hospital for this community,' said Overstreet, who is also the Appalachian Program Director for the Mennonite Central Committee.
Tylah Cline is the Dismukes Project Coordinator for the Mennonite Central Committee or the MCC. She explained that the original deal to open this hospital led to its eventual downfall.
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'Throughout the following years, 1930 [and] 1931, they failed to pay him adequately. They promised $3.50 per patient. So, with all of that – being asked to build this hospital and not being paid, he ultimately took them to court for breach of contract and this made him the first black man to take a white corporation court for breach of contract in U.S. history,' said Cline.
Dr. Dismukes asked for $150,000 from the Sanitorium in this lawsuit, but only received $4,070. This was not enough for this hospital to keep its doors open, so they closed for good in 1932.
'I think in his mind, he thought that they would pay him. When they did not pay him, you know, he had done all that he could to keep it going,' added Overstreet. 'He filed that lawsuit with the hopes of recovering financially what he put into the hospital and then also for the patients that he provided care for, that he did not get paid for.'
What remains of this hospital is the Nurse's Home. Cline and the MCC purchased the land to renovate it and preserve its history.
'We are renovating it to make it into a learning center for the community. We are looking to have programing related to literacy classes, knitting classes, [and] canning classes,' said Cline.
Cline said they hope to have renovations completed by the end of 2025.
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Overstreet's findings sparked a new tradition at the World War I Memorial in Kimball. This tradition is called 'Lost Stories' – where folks from the black community have a place to share their stories, so that stories like this one will not be lost again. This community event takes place on the first Tuesday of every month at 6:30 p.m.
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