Abandoned hospital in Alabama
Walker County Hospital, Jasper Alabama

Walker County Hospital, built in 1923, was the first constructed in Walker County and was funded thru the sale of stock in the hospital corporation to local citizens. The hospital was originally built to provide for the health care needs of the citizens of Walker, Winston, Lamar, and Fayette Counties and to alleviate the necessity of transporting patients who required emergency medical treatment, or standard hospital care, to hospitals in the Birmingham area. The Walker County Hospital was the only hospital in Walker County until 1936 and served the county until its closing in 1980.
By 1920 the four-county area of Walker, Winston, Lamar, and Fayette Counties had grown to become the state's second leading coal mining area, behind Jefferson County, and was also a leader in the production of lumber and timber products. During this period local leaders had pushed for the construction of a hospital to meet the needs of this growing industrial area but met with little success. It was not until mid-October 1922 that the construction of such a facility began to become a reality.
On October 13, 1922, the first of a series of meetings was held between a group, led by Dr. A. C. Jackson, representing Birmingham-based coal interest in the Jasper area (which included Brilliant Coal Company, Monro-Warrior Coal Company, and Railway Fuel Company) and the Walker County Medical Society and local businessmen. Another meeting was held on October 20 at which time the hospital corporation was organized and $4,000 in stock sold. The new corporation's charter was written by then practicing Jasper attorney, John H. Bankhead, Jr. At this meeting Dr. Jackson unveiled the plans for the new hospital which were drawn up by Birmingham architect William Leslie Welton. These plans called for the building to have three floors, with a basement, to have a 61-bed capacity, and to be equipped with all modern hospital services such as X-ray and surgical units.
The Jasper Mountain Eagle called attention to the advantages that could be derived from having a hospital for the area which included "A saving of time. Sometimes life depends upon a speedy operation; with a hospital in Jasper, Walker County patients will not be obliged to wait for hours for a train to Birmingham or other points. A saving of railroad fare, which is quite an expensive item, not only for patients but for relatives and friends. With a hospital in Jasper, relatives and friends will be able to see patients more often than they would if they were at some hospital outside the county. It is estimated that not fewer than 365 Walker County patients are carried to Birmingham hospitals annually. What a saving in time and money if most of these cases could be kept in this county..."
The Mountain Eagle also called attention to the reasons why a hospital should be built in Jasper.
In the period following the organization of the hospital corporation, there was a major stock sales effort aimed at the public. This effort included the running of a series of half-page ads which called upon people's civic spirit as well as economic sense to purchase corporate stock at $10 per share in order to finance the construction of the hospital building. By early December 1922 over 3/5 of the stock available had been sold to the public.
By the end of December, it was reported that $40,000 of the required $50,000 in stock had been sold and that a site for the location of the hospital had been purchased. The site that was purchased was known as the Dilworth block and was located away from the railroad and the manufacturing district, a fact that had been a prime concern for the site committee.
On Thursday, March 15, 1923, bids were opened for the construction of the hospital building. Twelve bids were submitted and a contract for $48,000 was awarded to L. J. Wilson, a Jasper contractor and builder. The heating and plumbing contract for $11,250 was awarded to Calhoun Engineering Company of Sheffield and the electrical contract for $3,600 was awarded to Gandy Electrical Company of Birmingham. Construction of the hospital began in April 1923 and by mid-August, Dr. A. C. Jackson, who had been elected president of the hospital corporation, estimated the completion date for October 10. On October 10, Sheriden Bowser, who was foreman for the carpenter crew working on the building, told the Mountain Eagle that the new estimated completion date was set for the middle of November. By mid-November the building was near completion and the opening ceremony was held on December 5, 1923.
When completed, the hospital was one of the "best and up-to-date hospitals in Alabama. The very best equipment that could be found in the U. S. has been secured...the X-ray, the sterilizer, operating tables, instruments, wards and room furnishings... (are) of the highest type to be found anywhere." The first three floors contained the main reception room, offices for the superintendent and doctor, a doctors' lounge as well as several private rooms.
The hospital took pride in the service offered to black patients, as the Mountain Eagle explained, "Many hospitals have the colored patients in the basement but the Walker County Hospital has a department on the first floor for the colored. These wards are arranged that they can be closed off from the remainder of the hospital. There is a special entrance for these patients. By this arrangement the colored patients will receive first-class service."
The hospital kitchen included modern cooking ranges, ventilating fans, and steam serving tables to allow meals to still be hot when served to patients. On the second floor were located men's and women's wards, each with beds equipped with a backrest and a bedside table for each patient. Also located on the second floor on the northwest corner, to take advantage of the maximum amount of light, were the operating rooms. The present-day attic served as the quarters for the staff nurses and nursing students until the completion, the next year, of the new nurses' building just off the main hospital.
The hospital served the Walker County area as its only hospital until 1936 when a new Works Progress Administration-built hospital was completed. The Walker County Hospital served as a private corporate institution until 1956 when Dr. A. C. Jackson, who had served as superintendent from the corporation organization and was major stockholder, turned the facility over to the city of Jasper as a public institution to be known as Jasper Community Hospital. The hospital served under this name until its closing in 1980.
Building Description
The Walker County Hospital is a typical example of institutional and particularly hospital construction of the first three decades of the 20th century.
The hospital is located on a landscaped 2.48-acre block bordered by 12th Street on the North, by 8th Avenue on the East, 11th Street on the South, and 7th Avenue on the West.
The hospital building is basically an E-shaped, two-story brick building, with solid brick load-bearing exterior walls, and contains a basement and an attic. The building is thirteen bays wide across the front and has a small, one-story central gabled front entrance with a series of concrete walks and steps leading from the street to the main entrance. This walk replaced the original circular drive which ran past the front of the building. The main rectangular block of the building is covered with a wide eave gable-on-hip roof with louvers in the gables and a series of projecting gabled and shed dormers on the front and side slopes. Much of the original slate roof tiles remain, although asphalt shingles have replaced some of the original tiles.
The building receives its overall E-shape from three short parallel wings, with hip roofs, that project from the rear of the main rectangular block. The principal fenestration of the building consists of a series of double windows divided by a wooden mullion with original 6/1 sashing in each opening. The windows in the dormers vary from this treatment in that the dormers contain a series of small double 6/6 sash windows divided by a wooden mullion.
The interior walls of the building are either plaster on metal lathe, sheetrock, or solid brick. Although dropped ceilings and linoleum floors have been introduced over the years, the majority of the interior woodwork and trim appear to be original.
The original wooden stairs have been replaced by metal stairs in order to meet fire code safety regulations for hospitals, and an elevator has been added.
Located off the northeast corner of the main hospital building is the old clinic building which was constructed shortly after completion of the main building for use as a nurse's annex. This building is one-story brick with a gable-on-hip roof. A gabled entry porch, with false half-timbering in the gable, is located on the northwest corner of the building. There is a series of double windows with 6/6 sashing, divided by a wooden mullion across the front. Immediately behind the hospital building, but not attached, is the Regional Office of the Northwest Alabama Regional Mental Health Authority which was constructed in 1964.

Looking west towards front of main hospital building (1985)

Looking southwest toward northeast corner of main hospital building (1985)

Looking northwest towards southeast corner of main hospital building (1985)

Looking north towards South side of main hospital building (1985)

Looking East at West side of main hospital building (1985)

Looking East towards West side of Nurses Annex (1985)

Looking towards main entrance of main hospital building (1985)

Patient's room on second floor of main hospital building (1985)
