 Front view of Physicians Hospital in Plattsburgh circa 1926 Following World War I, the United States began to drastically change. As the economy began to boom, Americans saw an increase in consumerism, urbanization, and industrialization. One sector of the economy that was greatly affected by these movements was hospitals. Hospitals of the 1920s became more than just places of charity for the poor, they became luxurious recovery places for working- and middle-class America. Rather than recovering at home and handling illnesses in the comfort of their own homes, middle-class Americans began to seek out hospitals to care for their health needs. Gone were the days of large hospital wards as hospitals began to market single rooms to the rich while keeping smaller wards open to lower classes. Due to the growth of individual rooms for individual patients Americans began to look down upon large hospital wards. Once a middle-class American was able to recover in the comfort and privacy of their own room they refused to go back to recovering in a large open ward surrounded by people of different classes, religions, genders, and races. Additionally, hospitals began to accept more surgical and obstetric patients as more people sought out hospitals as a place to take care of their medical needs rather than seeing their family physician who might visit their home. Surgeries such as appendectomies, tonsillectomies, and adenoidectomies grew in popularity. People also began to deliver their children in hospitals, causing an adjustment from the image of a mother and her newborn baby to the newborn baby being cared for by nurses dressed in all white. Although hospitals were mainly marketed and constructed with the working- and middle-class in mind, at the heart, they were meant for the community; regardless of religion, class, race, and social standing. A majority of hospitals were nonprofit and were constructed through funds raised by the community or from a philanthropist who wants to better their community, which is exactly what William H. Miner did. As more and more people flocked to towns and cities, there was a growing concern for rural life and health. Most rural hospitals were inadequately equipped, with few qualified doctors and little resources to care for their patients. William Miner recognized this need and immediately took action. William Miner wanted to make a place that was open to the entire Champlain Valley, not exclusive to those who could afford the hospital. In fact, Miner even specified in his endowment left for the hospital that it was to remain nonsectarian and open to the entire Champlain Valley community.  Architectural drawing for the Physicians Hospital For the design of the hospital, Miner selected his architect of choice, Frederick B. Townsend, who had helped him design several buildings on Heart’s Delight Farm as well as the Chazy Central Rural School. Although Townsend had never designed a hospital before, he was up for the task and Miner sent him to hospitals across the country in order to gather knowledge on the best designs for hospitals. Before William Miner got involved, there were already two small hospitals in Plattsburgh, Champlain Valley Hospital and the Physicians Hospital. The Champlain Valley Hospital was set up on June 14, 1903 as a nonsectarian hospital that accepted patients of all religions and economic backgrounds. The hospital was run by the Grey Nuns and was originally funded by local affluent citizens such as Smith M. Weed, General Stephen Moffitt, Hon. J.B. Riley and many others. Later on, the hospital was funded by the Board of Charities of the State of NY. The Grey Nuns were known as a group who “ministered to the sick and unfortunate tirelessly and efficiently. These nobel [sic] women…devoted their energies to the labor of love and service.” (John H. Moffitt, local iron mine owner and Chairman of the Board of the Champlain Valley Hospital). The hospital also included a small nurses school for women interested in becoming nurses.  View of the old Physicians Hospital on Court Street The Physicians Hospital began several years later in January of 1911 by Dr. Cassisus D. Silver and a group of his colleagues. A December 1926 article in the Plattsburgh Sentinel on the new Physicians Hospital describes this group of men well, “this devoted little band secured the old Beckwith mansion on Court street, labored, not for a place in the sun but to be of service to the physical welfare of the people of this northland…” Over time, this band of men began to outgrow the small mansion and discussed expansion. However, the harsh economic conditions of WWI prevented expansion from happening and the project was set aside. Several years later, on Christmas Day 1921, Mr. and Mrs. Miner were having dinner with Dr. Silver and his wife when Dr. Silver mentioned how he wanted to build a new hospital somewhere in Plattsburgh. After dinner, the Miners and Silvers went for a walk down Beekman street. Suddenly, Mr. Miner stopped, turned to his wife and asked for her to choose a place for the hospital. Alice quickly pointed out a place that would become 100 Beekman Street, the site of the new Physicians Hospital.  Side view of Physicians Hospital circa 1926 Construction for the $4 million project began in August of 1922, an article in the Plattsburgh Sentinel marked the event as “one of the most important events to be held in Plattsburg [sic] in some time.” The article also detailed how around two hundred citizens of Plattsburgh were present at the groundbreaking ceremony, eager to see what would come of the new project. Four years later, the hospital would open on January 1, 1926. A December 1926 article in the Plattsburgh Sentinel on the new hospital went into great detail about the building and its grounds, “So artistically do the building and its surroundings harmonize, so perfectly does one complement the other that one forgets for the moment what a noble structure is the hospital itself.” William Miner purposely made the hospital stand on the top of a hill on 30 acres of trees. William Miner had a habit of placing his luxurious buildings on the tops of hills in order to make the building seem larger and more awe-inspiring. The grounds included tennis courts for the staff, a pond that housed several birds including ducks, Canadian geese, and swans. The hospital was a small recovery paradise for patients, nestled in the hills of the Champlain Valley. The massive hospital had 212 rooms with the capacity for 68 additional beds. Three of these beds were available for charity patients. These beds were sponsored by various donors and were a feature of the old Physicians Hospital that carried over into the new one. The fact that this hospital was so massive displays how the hospital follows William Miner’s philosophy. Joseph C. Burke wrote in his biography about Miner that his “projects followed a dominant dream; making the rural Champlain Valley competitive in every way with big cities, including medical care.” Miner’s hospital was certainly competitive with hospitals in bigger cities. William Miner ensured that the new Physicians Hospital got all of the new and best technology of the time.  When constructing the hospital William Miner wanted no color, only whites and off-whites finished with mahogany wood for the furniture, ceilings, and other trimmings. Additionally, Miner wanted everything to blend seamlessly ensuring that there were no 90 degree corners throughout the interior of the hospital.  Every floor had a sun room for patients to relax and recover in. These rooms fit into the theme of the time of added luxuries being found in hospitals. Going to the hospital wasn’t just about getting a surgery done, having a baby, or recovering from an illness. It was a consumption good for the public with several luxuries to serve patients during their stay at the hospital.  There were four operating rooms throughout the hospital, each with massive windows providing natural light for surgery as well as the best technology of the time. A five hundred gallon tank on the roof of the hospital provided the surgeons with distilled water with pipes leading throughout the hospital from the tank to various places around the hospital. There was also an intricate system that provided clean air to the operating room by forcing the air through a wall of water, cleansing the air before entering the operating room to protect the surgeon and their patient from disease and infection. There were only two other hospitals with such a system; one in London and one in Paris. The air in the operating room was then forced out through powerful exhaust fans in order to eliminate any excess anesthetic fumes. Also found in each operating room was a large observation amphitheater with the largest having the ability to seat 125 people. Every operating room is also “under thermostatic regulation” allowing for the room to be kept at a constant, comfortable temperature.  As more and more working- and middle-class women began to give birth at hospitals came an increasing need for high quality labor and delivery services at hospitals. The Physicians Hospital was no different. They created an entire wing of the hospital dedicated to labor and delivery. There were two delivery rooms with adjoining labor rooms, a nursery complete with sixteen bassinets, and several private rooms for mothers to rest and recover.  William H. Miner made sure that the Physicians hospital was equipped with all of the best technology, including several x-ray machines. Pictured here is a deep therapy unit which consists of two 150kv. machines working with a Coolidge tube. In addition to this equipment are three six-sixty outfits, each for a different purpose including one mobile unit for bedside work.  Pictured here is a dark room which is found in the eye, ear, nose, and throat department located in the south wing of the second floor. The walls of the dark room are painted completely black which “ensures ideal conditions for fundus examination, as well as for refraction.” Another room in the department is completely soundproof to provide for optimal hearing tests.  The Physical Therapy Department is also well equipped with Nauheim baths, sitz baths, continuous flow baths, and special arm and leg continuous flow baths. They also had quartz water and air-cooled lamps, Zoalite and radiant lamps, the Morse wave, and diathermy machines. In addition to this equipment were expert Swedish masseuses. Pictured to the left is the electric light cabinet and steam baths.  The culinary department was complete with a dietitian overseeing the kitchen and was kept sanitary through the use of an incinerator for food wastes. There was also a cellar under the kitchen that was used for storing root vegetables, apples, and canned fruits. The food was then carried to each room through the use of a service elevator ensuring that the food arrives to the patient hot and fresh.  The first floor is where the laundry is found. A series of chutes and tunnels carry all the linens to the laundry room for cleaning. The laundry room “includes stationary tubs, a large telescopic disinfector, soap kettle, two washers, two extractors, dryer, starch kettle, mangle, two press machines” and all the necessary accessories for laundry.  The eighth floor of the hospital contains all of the necessary facilities for the School of Nursing at the Physicians Hospital. Students have access to the reference library, lecture room, classrooms, and a roof garden along with a reception room on the fourth floor which contains a piano, victrola, and radio. The hospital also provided housing for the student nurses within the hospital.  Although the Physicians Hospital was meant to serve the Champlain Valley community, it still marketed itself as a top of the line hospital complete with all the luxuries that middle-class citizens were looking for. In 1929, the hospital released a book (first page pictured on left) describing all of the unique features of the hospital and essentially marketing it to the people of Plattsburgh as a luxurious, technologically-advanced, hospital. The Physicians Hospital in Plattsburgh truly is an excellent example of the hospital movement in the 1920s.  "Dear Dr. Silver" plaque in directors office In spite of all of his dedication to the hospital, serving on the executive committee of the board of directors, and managing the finances of the hospital, William H. Miner never sought credit for his dedication to the hospital. Always willing to help, the only thing in the original hospital bearing his name was a plaque that included an engraving of a letter written to Dr. Silver from Mr. and Mrs. William H. Miner, thanking Dr. Silver for his hard work and dedication to the community. Additionally, Miss White, the bookkeeper for both the school and the hospital, stated that William Miner never refused requests from the hospital for additional money. The Plattsburgh Sentinel wrote, "W.H. Miner and Mrs. Miner, the man and woman whose genius generosity and high sense of service made this great dream come true. They have not seen fit to blazon their doings for the encomiums that come through shallow worldly praise. Nevertheless, their work and influence has been too important a factor in Clinton County’s progress to be taken for anything less than it is, modest and self-effacing though they may be." The Physicians Hospital is a great example of the generosity, modesty, and dedication of William H. and Alice T. Miner.  CVPH Today Their legacy lives on in the Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital (CVPH) in Plattsburgh. January 18, 1967 the Champlain Valley Hospital and Physicians Hospital merged to create the much larger Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital. Both hospitals had been facing financial troubles for several years and the Champlain Valley Hospital was too small. In 1999, The Alice T. Miner Center for Women and Children opened its doors on the third floor of CVPH. Additionally, William H. Miner Foundation still provides funds for the hospital. The Physicians Hospital was an excellent example of not only the hospital movement of the 1920s but also of William H. Miner’s selflessness and generosity.
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Alysha Kuhn2025 Joseph C Burke and Joan T. Burke Scholarship Recipient Topics |
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The William H. Miner Agricultural Research Institute
1034 Miner Farm Road, Chazy, NY 12921 • 518-846-7121 ext 149 • Email
1034 Miner Farm Road, Chazy, NY 12921 • 518-846-7121 ext 149 • Email
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