Photo from the Armstrong ArchivesAs early as 1876 “the Dr. Smedley house”
on South College Street is shown on a map of Harrodsburg. John Smedley was a successful druggist and
physician who saw patients in his home as well as making house calls. In 1914, this grand old brick house was torn
down to make way for the construction of the A. D. Price Memorial Hospital.
The A. D. Price Memorial Hospital was built in 1915 and was dedicated in remembrance of the contribution of Dr. Ansel Daniel Price, “one of the most universally loved men who ever lived in our community and a widely known physician in central Kentucky.” This 20 bed hospital served for 34 years, until 1949, when a larger one was needed.
Photo from the Armstrong Archives
The top photograph shows the surgery and
delivery room at the A. D. Price Memorial Hospital in 1949, just prior to its
being torn down. In spite of its
primitive appearance compared to modern standards, it served the community
well, with over 2,000 successful deliveries reported. Rooms were set up to accommodate four to six
patients per room with no air conditioning or television.
The above photograph shows a patient
either being transported to or from the hospital. Emergency vehicles or ambulances were scarce and funeral home hearses were commonly used as transport. They appear to be using a home-made platform
to get patients from the building to the vehicle.
Anna Elliott Bohon, in the above photograph,
was a registered nurse who came to Harrodsburg, in 1926 as the superintendent
of the A. D. Price Memorial Hospital. At
that time the hospital had one nurse and no patients. By the end of the year, there were four
nurses and a growing patient load. In
1939, she was elected to the hospital’s board of directors and from 1940 to
1963, served as its president. Under her
presidency, the hospital secured foundation grants and bought the land for the
construction of the James B. Haggin Memorial Hospital, which was dedicated in
1949. She was an organizer of the Mercer
County Health Department and founder of the Mercer County Cancer Drive. In 1964, a new annex to Haggin Hospital was
dedicated in her honor. She was a true
community leader and in 1962 was named “Woman of the Year” by the Harrodsburg
Woman’s Club. She died at the age of 100
in 1993.
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