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Before the arrival of English settlers, the wooded hills of eastern
Connecticut were the domain of the Nipmuk, Pequot, Quinebaug, Wabbaquaset
and Mohegan Indians. Though history records many hostilities confronted
by the English upon their arrival, it also tells of the assistance
provided by some of the Indian tribes. An alliance between Uncas,
a Mohegan, and settlers in the Norwich area led to an important
transaction that was to determine the future of the Windham area.
A large tract of land, which included the present towns of Windham,
Mansfield, Scotland, and parts of Chaplin and Hampton, was granted
to the English settlers and held in trust for the establishment
of a "plantation". |
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The Windham tract was a bequest from Joshua, third son of Uncas,
to 16 men of Norwich and surrounding towns. Listed among the legatees
were Captain John Mason, Lieutenant Samuel Mason, Lieutenant Daniel
Mason, Reverend James Fitch, Captain James Fitch, John Birchard,
Thomas Tracey, Thomas Adgate, Lieutenant Thomas Leffingwell, John
Olmstead, Simon Huntington, William Hide, William Backus, Hugh Calkins,
Captain George Denison and Daniel Wetherell.
The General Court of Connecticut established Joshua's will in May,
1678; however, ten years elapsed before settling of the area began.
Sites selected for villages included Hither-place, now Old Windham
Village; Ponde-place or Mansfield Center; and Willimantic. The first
persons to live on the land were John Cotes, an English refugee,
and his servant, Joe Ginne. Mr. Cotes built a home in Windham Center
on land purchased from Daniel Mason.
The early settlers were largely dependent upon themselves and members
of their clergy for care in times of sickness. However, according
to Larned's HISTORY OF WINDHAM COUNTY, "Hannah Bradford, the
wife of Joshua Ripley--a descendant of Plymouth's famous governor--was
a noble and useful woman, remarkable not only for intelligence and
accomplishments but for skill in the art of healing. She was the
first, and long the only, physician in the settlement, and it is
said that the first male physician, Dr. Richard Huntington, received
much of his medical knowledge from her."
By 1726, Windham Green was the leading town in the tract with regard
to population, wealth and political influence. Rapid growth in Windham
and surrounding towns brought new physicians to the area. Ralph
Gilman, M.D. in his treatise, THE EARLY PHYSICIANS OF WINDHAM COUNTY
AND THE FOUNDING OF THE WINDHAM COUNTY MEDICAL ASSOCIATION, lists
the following names as medical practitioners during the eighteenth
century: Nathan Arnold, Joshua Elderkin, Ebenezer Gray, Samuel Lee,
Sr., and Samuel Lee, Jr. all of Windham: Nehemiah Howe, Thomas Huntington
and Joseph Palmer of Ashford and Jabez Adams of Mansfield. Care
of the sick, previously dependent upon self-taught individuals,
herbs and home remedies, was slowly being entrusted to a profession
whose members were now acquiring special education and training
in the treatment of disease and injuries.
The topography of the region was a prime factor in its rapid growth.
EarIv industry of the original settlement of"Willimantuck"--sawmills
and gristmills--was driven bv thc power of the Willimantic River.
Its natural flow, increased by the waters of the Mt. Hope and Ten
Mile Rivers, provided some of the steadiest and most reliable water
power in the state.
As decades passed, Willimantic emerged as the most prominent of
the three villages within the original tract. It became a borough
in 1833 and was incorporated as a city in 1893. By the turn of the
century, Willimantic was a thriving factory, mill, business, commercial
and educational community. Professional men--lawyers, doctors and
clergy--had established themselves in the area. A railroad, later
known as the New York-New Haven-Hartford line, promoted industrial
growth. Paper and grist mills, small businesses, manufacturing plants--led
by the large American Thread Company, and individual entrepreneurs
in wool, tea, plumbing and stove-making, were part of this thriving
business community. Older residents will recall familiar names of
local industries, such as the Windham Company, the Smithville Company,
the Quidnick-Windham Manufacturing Company, the Vandermann Heating
and Plumbing Company, the CSC Box Shop, the Morrison Machine Company,
the Atwood Machine Company, the Willimantic Linen Company, the Holland
Silk Company and the Hillhouse and Taylor Woodworking Company. The
Willimantic Chronicle was as important a publication in those times
as it is today. While several banks were established, the Willimantic
Savings Institute opened in the early 1800's and continues to serve
the needs of the public.
Throughout the 1800's, family physicians provided medical care
in a patient's home. Technical advances that would require a special
place for the treatment of the sick were, as yet, unknown. Almshouses
existed for the care of the indigent, the insane, and the few chronically
ill, handicapped or aged individuals who could not, for whatever
reason, remain at home. Early hospitals were few in number throughout
the United States. A survey conducted in 1873 revealed only 178
hospitals in the nation, and this number included mental institutions.
Medical knowledge, surgical techniques and diagnostic testing had
advanced to such an extent by the beginning of the twentieth century
that treatment of the sick required a special setting with equipment
and trained staff. A nationwide census completed in 1909 listed
4,359 hospitals, excluding mental and chronic disease hospitals,
with a total of 421,065 beds. The hospital had become an integral
part of American community life. Its image had been transformed
from a welfare institution to an entity that was necessary for the
care and treatment of rich and poor alike.
As in many communities across the nation, local physicians and
citizens supported the concept of a "modern" health care
facility. It was into this setting that St. Joseph Hospital in Willimantic
was opened in 1908 by The Sisters of Charity of the St. Joseph parish.
Plans for St. Joseph's grew out of several discussions between
Reverend Mother Tharsiella of the Sisters of Charity and John Weldon,
M.D. With the help of other interested individuals, they identified
a vacant convent building as an area to house patients and furthered
ideas that would foster development of the new hospital.
Plans progressed and on November 21, 1907, twenty people were present
at a meeting to act upon incorporation. They elected Gilford Smith
as President and James Shea as Secretary. A committee of six was
appointed to draw up the Articles of Incorporation which were approved
on March 9, 1908. A twelve member Board of Directors was established
and the number of incorporators set at nine to thirty. Upon opening,
the patient charge at St. Joseph's was $3.00, increasing to $5.00
in 1910. Nurses were trained on site. Area physicians joined the
staff of the new institution, and Dr. Weldon was named the first
president of the medical staff.
In March, 1911 the number of Directors was increased from 12 to
17. New officers were elected on November 17, 1917. George Tiles
was installed as President; William B. Sweeney as Vice President
and H.C. Lathrop as Secretary.
By July, 1926 heavy utilization of the 40 bed hospital and a need
for modernization dictated expansion and renovation of the facility.
Hospital Directors planned to meet with the Trustees of the St.
Joseph Catholic Congregation to discuss these objectives. However,
the Sisters of Charity, based in the Netherlands, were finding it
necessary to recall their staff from St. Joseph's. Additionally,
there was concern that the necessary funding could not be raised
solely from within the Congregation. As a result, St. Joseph's asked
that a new hospital be built as a community effort. St. Joseph's
remained actively involved in planning the new hospital and contributed
nearly $40,000, including a $12,000 memorial in the name of the
Sisters of Charity.
On October 1, 1930 an incorporator's meeting was held and it was
decided that the new hospital would be a non-sectarian community
hospital with a non-sectarian Board. To reflect this change they
proposed the name Windham Community Memorial Hospital.
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