Alabama Baptist Hospital

History of the Alabama Baptist Hospital

The Alabama Baptist Hospital, located in the historic Riverview neighborhood of Selma, Alabama, was built in 1922 under the direction of architect Frank Lockwood. The design incorporates elements of the Italian Renaissance and Georgian styles. It was formerly named Alabama Baptist Hospital. At the time, Selma already had three medical facilities—Vaughn Hospital, Union Street Hospital, and King Memorial Hospital. Owned by the Southern Baptist Group, the hospital opened as a public institution, providing care to the residents of Selma with little to no fees. Many newspapers of the time often called it a “Christian house of healing.” The hospital operated until 1971, when it was replaced by the Selma Medical Center.

The Alabama Baptist Hospital was exactly what its name implies—a statewide institution owned and operated by Alabama Baptists. The hospital was overseen by a board of trustees appointed by the Alabama Baptist Convention, which also held the hospital property in trust. Funded in part through a state-wide Baptist fundraising campaign, Selma’s hospital received $105,000 of the allocated funds of the $250,000 raised, with the remainder supporting a second Baptist hospital in Montgomery.

Local contributions totaled approximately $25,000, and Selma residents played a vital role in securing and supporting the hospital’s establishment. Among the contributors were Edward Carlisle Melvin, president of the Selma National Bank; Lloyd McKee Hooper, co-owner of the C. W. Hooper and Company, whole grocers and cotton merchants; and hotelier W. E. Hamner.

Before its opening, several individuals had also expressed interest in donating memorials to the hospital. Rooms, beds, porches, chairs, and similar furnishings may be dedicated in memory of a loved one. Ornamental or duplicative items such as towels or silver plaques were not accepted. Donors covered the cost of specific equipment or furnishings, which would be selected by the hospital and acknowledged appropriately.

Before the Alabama Baptist Hospital was built, others had been erected. There were three already functioning hospitals in Selma, including the Union Street Hospital, Vaughan Memorial Hospital, and the King Memorial Hospital. The DuBose Sanitarium was another, but it burned down in 1911. Alabama Baptist Hospital was completed at $248,000 and constructed of brick, making it entirely fireproof. It was designed by prominent Montgomery architect Frank Lockwood with elements of the Italian Renaissance and Georgian styles.

Frank Lockwood, Architect

Frankwood Lockwood was born in 1866 in Trenton, New Jersey, to English parents. His father, Charles Mellor Lockwood, was an engineer. Raised in New York City, Frank demonstrated early talent as a singer, earning recognition at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. He was even offered a contract with the Metropolitan Opera, but at his mother’s urging, he chose to pursue architecture instead.

Lockwood went on to study at Princeton University and later at the newly founded Pratt Institute. After completing his education, he briefly lived in Columbus, Georgia, before relocating to Montgomery, Alabama, in 1894. One of his earliest commissions in the region was the Bell House in nearby Prattville.

In 1901, Lockwood partnered with fellow architect Benjamin Bosworth Smith to form the firm Lockwood & Smith. The firm quickly rose to prominence and became Montgomery’s leading architectural practice in the early 20th century. Smith was known for designing the Montgomery Union Station and Trainshed for the Louisville and Nashville Railroad. Together, the duo also completed several public projects, including the Calhoun County Courthouse in Blountstown, Florida. Their partnership ended in 1903.

Throughout his 41-year career in Montgomery, Lockwood left a significant architectural legacy. His notable works include the north and south wings of the Alabama State Capitol, the Frank M. Johnson Jr. Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse, Montgomery City Hall, Baldwin Junior High School, the Greystone Hotel, the Standard Club, a major addition to the First National Bank, and multiple buildings on the campus of Huntingdon College.

Lockwood also designed numerous prominent residences in Montgomery, such as the Brewbaker Estate at 435 East Fairview Avenue, the Gilmer Estate at 1655 Gilmer Avenue, the Leonel Weil Estate at 251 East Fairview Avenue, Rockhaven which was the first house built in the Capital Heights neighborhood, and the distinctive “Pickle Palace” at 1506 South Perry Street.

Frankwood Lockwood passed away on January 10, 1936, at his home and was laid to rest in Greenwood Cemetery in Montgomery.

Charity Work

The Alabama Baptist Hospital featured 80 beds and no wards. All rooms were private, although some of them had two to three beds. The treatment rates had been fixed, reportedly as low as was consistent with first-class service. All rooms with one or two beds were $3 per day. Private rooms with a bath were $4. Private rooms with a bath and telephone were $5.

Free patients were given rooms and care exactly as was given to paying patients. The service was the same, but a free case would be given if requested in advance, as there was a limit to the number of free patients who could be admitted at one time. By 1924, over 1,000 patients had been given free treatment at the hospital.

Training School and Staff

A key focus of the Alabama Baptist Hospital was the training of nurses. A well-equipped lecture hall was established in the basement, complete with anatomical models, skeletons, charts, blackboards, and other instructional materials. A proper training school building was completed shortly after the hospital’s opening.

The school was affiliated with the Alabama Association of Hospitals, and pupil nurses took an active role in hospital operations from the beginning of their training. Since the hospital functioned primarily on monetary donations, fees collected from the nurses directly supported the nursing program.

The regular staff included Drs. W. W. Burns, Eugene Callaway, Pressly Donald, Charles D. Feagin, John N. Furniss, Samuel S. Gay, William W. Harper, Lee Jones, James Keenan, Monroe A. Maass, Samuel K. Moseley, and Miss Mary Keipp, R.N., anesthetist. The associate staff included Drs. John T. Chapman, A. H. Martin, P. B. Moss, A. B. Pickering, Baxter Rittenberry, B. B. Rogan, Ira C. Skinner, and Marcus Skinner.

No Negroes Allowed

Black people were not allowed admission to the Alabama Baptist Hospital and instead, sought treatment at the Good Samaritan Hospital, which was established the same year. Dr. Louis Judson Bristow, superintendent of the Baptist hospital, was also in charge of the Good Samaritan, and the physicians and surgeons also practiced there. This hospital was also staffed only by Black nurses and orderlies.

The clinic only had 26 beds; therefore, many people were turned away due to all spaces being occupied. In 1926, an annex was constructed to overcome this issue by adding 50 more beds. It was reported that none of the money from the Baptist fundraising campaign was used for this hospital, and instead, the funds for its upkeep were secured elsewhere. At the time of its opening, $160 had been contributed, with just $10 of that being from the Baptists; a stark contrast to what was contributed to the Whites-only Alabama Baptist Hospital.

The Edmundite Southern Missions would later operate the Good Samaritan Hospital, a locally controversial group because of its support of the black voting rights campaign and its social services in the Black community. It attracted national attention when the Edmundite-run hospital treated the victims of the “Bloody Sunday” police violence at the Edmund Pettus Bridge during the Selma to Montgomery march.

Privatization

In 1931, a group of physicians headed by Dr. Eugene Callaway signed a 10-year lease on the Baptist hospital, and it was renamed Selma Baptist Hospital. From then on until 1971, it operated as a privately run institution, although still owned by the Alabama Baptist Convention.

The Hospital Corporation of America (HCA) was founded in 1968 in Nashville, Tennessee, by Thomas F. Frist Sr., Thomas F. Frist Jr., and Jack C. Massey. The company began with Nashville’s Park View Hospital, which the elder Frist had founded in 1960 with other doctors, and where he was serving as chief executive. The company included 11 hospitals when it filed its initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange, one of those being the Selma Baptist Hospital, which they purchased in August of 1968.

Within a matter of months, it was decided that the building would be enlarged to accommodate more beds, but it was determined that the expansion of the present building was not feasible. So, a decision was made for a new state-of-the-art facility to be built five miles from the Baptist hospital, West of the city. In 1970, construction began on the Selma Medical Center, and it received its first patient on July 20, 1971.

On July 18, 1972, the former Baptist hospital was purchased by Selma attorney Joe Pilcher through his corporation called Montgomery Leasing Inc., from HCA for $100,000. In what was deemed controversial, a price-hiking scheme was enacted. Later that same day, the building was sold for $200,000 to Associated Builders Inc., which was also owned by Picher. The following day, the building was sold back to Montgomery Leasing Inc. for $400,000, increasing the value of the property four times what it was originally sold for.

State Use and Abandonment

The State Pensions and Security Department was located in a remodeled funeral home owned by Dallas County, adjacent to the courthouse in downtown Selma, and required more space. Nearly five months after Picher’s scheme, the State Pensions and Security Department signed a five-year lease for the former hospital building at a monthly rate of $11,271, or $135,259 a year. This was determined by the value of the square footage of the three-story building and the basement.

Despite the price-hiking deals that occurred, state legal advisor Bill Jackson assured that the contract was checked carefully before Governor George Wallace signed it. Jackson also said that he had appraisals from two different realty companies and that the contract “looked “appeared realistic” in view of prevailing rental rates on comparable property in Selma. This space was also used for the offices of the Dallas County Department of Public Welfare.

The building was last used in 2003 and has since been abandoned. The Alabama Baptist Hospital was added to the National Register of Historic Places on June 28, 1990, as a contributing structure of the Riverview Historic District. There have been proposed projects to revitalize the decaying building, but due to the property being labeled a brownfield site by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the cost required for the cleanup of the site has deterred developers.

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