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Dr. Robert Stokes purchased property on the French
Broad River in the Dunn’s Rock area in May 1920 with the intent of opening the
first hospital in Transylvania County. 
Named the Riverside Sanitarium, it was located in a large home that had
been built by South Carolina plantation owner William Johnstone in the
mid-1800s.

The hospital was heavily used and greatly
appreciated by local citizens.  In 1921
electricity and a modern water system were added to the facility, as plans for growth
were made.

Home of Dr. Stokes’ Brevard Hospital
on Broad St. 

It was later Transylvania
Hospital and then Lyday Memorial Hospital.

In April 1922 it was announced that Dr. Stokes had
purchased the old Hickson House on Broad St (today County Club Rd) in
Brevard.  The Brevard Hospital could care
for 25 patients.  With the assistance of
the eight nurses he employed Dr. Stokes continued to operate both facilities.  Dr. Summey also worked at the Brevard
Hospital.

In July 1925 a group of local physicians opened the
Transylvania Hospital in the 3-story Norwood House on Probart St.  Doctors included E.S. English, W.M. Lyday,
G.B. Lynch, T.J. Summey and W.J. Wallis of Brevard, J.B. Wilkerson of Rosman,
A.E. Lyday of Penrose and Owen E. Van Epp of Cashiers.

Exact dates of when Dr. Stokes closed the Riverside
Sanitarium or his Brevard hospital were not located.  However, in July 1925 he sold the Riverside
Sanitarium property so it had closed prior to that time.  At some point Dr. Stokes sold the Brevard
Hospital to Drs. Summey and Lynch and they moved the Transylvania Hospital to
this location.  It closed in 1930 because
of poor economic conditions.

Norwood
House on Probart St.
 was the home of Transylvania Hospital in the mid-1920s
and
Lyday Memorial Hospital in the early 1930s

After two years of not having a local hospital Dr.
Newland and Dr. Cunningham opened a 20-bed facility in the Norwood House (formerly
the Transylvania Hospital) in June 1932. 
Named the Lyday Memorial Hospital for Transylvania’s first physician,
Dr. Andrew J. Lyday, it was fully equipped for modern treatment and
surgery.  All physicians in the county
had accessed to the facility.

Because of the continuing economic depression the
hospital was soon turned over to the community as a public hospital to receive
additional funding and provide care for those unable to pay.  It was incorporated as a non-profit with a
Board of Trustees in 1933.

In 1935 the hospital relocated once again to the
old Hickson house on Broad St.  Demand
for health services grew quickly and land beside the hospital was purchased for
future use.  

Next week’s “Picturing the Past” article will cover
the history of the Transylvania Community Hospital, the first building in the county
built as a hospital.

Photographs and information for
this column are provided by the Rowell Bosse North Carolina Room, Transylvania
County Library.  Visit the NC Room during regular library hours
(Monday-Friday) to learn more about our history and see additional photographs.
 For more information, comments or suggestions contact Marcy
at [email protected] or 828-884-3151 X242.

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(828) 884-3151

212 S Gaston St, Brevard, NC 28712