Postcard of Carrie F. Wright Hospital. Notice the antique car in the driveway.
It is astounding how quickly major landmarks appear and disappear. The Carrie F. Wright Hospital of Newport, New Hampshire was only open for 44 years yet it played a vital role in its community.
According to a medical directory of the time, the Carrie F. Wright Hospital was established in 1908 as a public hospital. In 1919 it had 20 beds. The closing date is 25 January 1952 when the newspaper reported that the patients in the Carrie F. Wright Hospital were moved to the “new” hospital on Summer Street.
Photograph from 1954 Newport NH Town Report showing the entrance to the Carrie F. Wright Hospital.
–TIMELINE of Carrie F. Wright Hospital–
1908: Carrie F. Wright Hospital established, per medical directories of the time period, as a pubic hospital with 20 beds.
1909-1919 (and beyond): Dr. Fred Porter Claggett, physician at the Carrie F. Wright Hospital since his graduation from medical school.
9 November 1909: Miss Lillian G. Sullivan was superintendent of the Carrie F. Wright Hospital, Newport NH.
1908-1919: Treasurer and Trustee of the hospital: George Arlington Fairbanks.
1910: William Henry Wright bequeaths his home on Maple Street for “Carrie F. Wright Hospital” in memory of his wife.
1913: one of the trustees of the Carrie F. Wright Hospital — Dillwyn Sidney Rollins
Eva May (Emery) Crosby from the 1919 “One Thousand New Hampshire Notables.”
13 October 1917-1921: Eva May (Emery) Crosby, R.N. was the hospital superintendent/administrator [at least through 1921, perhaps beyond].
1918: Carrie F. Wright Hospital files articles of incorporation with the secretary of state.
1919: Frank Otis Chellis was a trustee.
1919: Town records show it was voted to give the Carrie F. Wright hospital the material from the emergency hospital and to grant it free use of the town hall two evenings during the year.
1921: The hospital now has 25 beds.
1925: newspapers advertise a 3-year accredited nursing program at Carrie F. Wright Hospital.
1941: Town records show plans made to purchase property adjoining land owned by the Carrie F. Wright hospital (on north side of Maple Street) for a nurses’ home at a meeting of the Hospital Aid Association.
1942: the local newspaper reported that George B. Wheeler who died Sunday left large bequests…chief among were the Carrie F Wright Hospital.
Real photograph of the Carrie Wright Hospital.
1943: the hospital trustees sell the Wheeler home.
25 January 1952: patients moved from Carrie F. Wright Hospital to the new hospital on Summer street. The “new hospital” is called the “Newport Hospital.”
1991: Newport Hospital on Summer Street closes.
By 1995: the original site of the Carrie F. Wright Hospital has been converted to elderly housing, currently called Maple Manor.
Additional information on the timeline of the hospital may be gleaned from the Newport Historical Society “History of Carrie F. Wright Hospital & Foundation” compiled in July 1973 for a hospital fair. | Wright Will, page 1 | Carrie F. Wright Hospital History, p1 | Carrie F. Wright Hospital History, page 2. My deepest appreciation to the staff and board of the Newport (NH) Historical Society for their help in obtaining these documents.
==Who was Carrie F. Wright?==
Photograph of Carrie F. (Mason) Wright, courtesy of the Newport (NH) Historical Society.
Carrie F. Mason was born 6 August 1836 in Concord, New Hampshire, daughter and only child of James & Caroline (Knowles) Mason. Her father James Mason had married on 27 Feb 1833 in Concord NH to Caroline Knowles. Caroline’s mother had married 23 Feb 1841 in NH to Albert Wilcox and in the 1850 and 1860 census Caroline is living with her step-father and mother in Newport, New Hampshire. Carrie F. Mason married William Henry Wright, son of Horace & Mary Ann (Foster) Wright. Carrie F. (Mason) Wright died 6 Nov 1905 in Newport NH of of laryngitis resulting in pneumonia. She was 69 years old. She was buried in the Maple Street Cemetery Newport NH on 9 Nov 1905. William Henry Wright died 5 Sep 1908 and is buried beside his wife in Maple Street Cemetery.
SOURCES:
1. Historical Chronology of Newport, New Hampshire (an author is not indicated, appears on the Newport NH Town web site.
2. Newport NH Town Reports
3. Various biographies of Newport NH men and women (One Thousand New Hampshire Notables, etc.)
4. Medical facilities directories of 1910-1920.
5. FamilySearch
