McPherson Hospital history

In October 1881, Secretary of War Robert Lincoln directed the lease of the site be surrendered and the buildings sold at public auction.

Five tracts of land, amounting to 140.09 acres, were purchased in September 1885.

During World War I, Fort McPherson was selected to be an internment camp for German prisoners of war, a base hospital, General Hospital No. It later became a prisoner of war facility, and by the end of July 1898, 16 Spanish army prisoners were incarcerated in what is now the Post Chapel.

As early as 1916 it became apparent that a newer, larger hospital was needed to serve the expanding community, and during that year plans were drawn for a new hospital.

Secretary of War Newton Baker directed “that the permanent barracks of Fort McPherson … be made available for general or base hospital use” June 23, 1917.

Through a subsequent bond issue, a new facility opened in 1921 as McPherson County Hospital.

In 1931 the Jessie McPherson Hospital functioned as the private section of the Queen Victoria Memorial Hospital, fees paid to attend Jessie McPherson Hospital helped finance the Queen Vic, enabling the hospital to be self-supporting.

With the passage of the 1940 Selective Service Act and the outbreak of World War II, Fort McPherson activities were greatly expanded.

The structure served the community until 1956, when another bond issue in the amount of $400,000 was granted for modernization and updating of the facility.

The hospital expanded in 1963 with the addition of a 52 bed geriatric wing at a cost of $412,000.

On Monday, January 8, 1973, the hospital was sold by the McPherson County Board of County Commissioners to McPherson Hospital, Inc. for $1.

In 1977, with the Jessie McPherson Hospital, the Queen Vic amalgamated with McCulloch House, to become the Queen Victoria Medical Centre.

By United States Army Garrison Public Affairs OfficeJune 29, 2011