The Brewster Hospital is a historic U.S. hospital in Jacksonville, Florida. It is located at 915 West Monroe Street. On May 13, 1976, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.
History
Brewster Hospital was the first African American hospital in the U.S. It served African Americans in Jacksonville from 1901 to 1966. It was founded in 1901 as the George A. Brewster Hospital and School of Nurse Training, because there was no place for Negroes to go to for treatment after the disastrous Great Fire of 1901. Its sponsor was the Women's Division of the Methodist Board of Missions. (As in other Southern cities, white hospitals did not treat Negroes before the Civil Rights Act of 1964.) It closed in 1966 because, like Florida A&M Hospital, the forced integration of white hospitals meant it lost its funding. The building was gutted and rebuilt as Methodist Hospital, opening in 1967. The original building is no longer in use, was recently moved and is being preserved. The building that replaced it became Methodist Medical Center in 1993, and in 1999 merged with University Medical Center to become the Shands Jacksonville Medical Center, an affiliate of the University of Florida and Shands HealthCare.
Notes
References
- Duval County listings at National Register of Historic Places
- Duval County listings at Florida's Office of Cultural and Historical Programs
- The Brewster hospital at Duval County Public Schools
