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By 1939 Transylvania County was well on its way to
recovering from the Great Depression. 
Harry Straus was constructing Ecusta which would bring jobs and growth
to the area.  Although there were a
number of highly respected doctors serving the county improvements to medical
facilities, specifically the hospital, were in need.  The current hospital was located in a house
that had been built as a family home and later served as a boarding house. 

Ralph
H. Ramsey, Jr., 

Chairman of the Transylvania Community Hospital Board of
Trustees

 turns the first shovel full of dirt at the groundbreaking on May 16,
1941.

Plans were made to construct the first hospital building
in Transylvania County.  A fund raising
campaign began in November 1939.  The goal
was to raise $25,000 locally, which the Duke Endowment Fund would match.  Saturday, November 30, was declared “Buy a
Brick Day”, with Harry Straus purchasing the first brick.  A giant thermometer on the courthouse lawn
showed the fund raising progress.  By the
end of December over half of the goal had been reached.

Transylvania
Community Hospital 

on Country Club Rd. (formerly Broad St.) is today the Brian
Center.

 The new
hospital was to be named the Transylvania Community Hospital to show that it
served the entire county.  The $110,000
25-bed facility opened on June 24, 1942. 
By the early 1950s the community was already outgrowing the facility and
in late 1953 the Harry H. Straus Wing was opened.  The hospital now had 47 beds and was expected
to serve the community for many years.

The continued growth of the economy and jobs lead
to an increased county population and by the 1960s the hospital was again too
small to meet demand.  Remodeling and
expanding the existing hospital was considered but state requirements made this
impractical.  A fund raising campaign in
1970 raised over $1,000,000 locally toward a new hospital to be built on 25
acres in north Brevard.

Transylvania
Community Hospital in north Brevard, 1974.

Construction began in 1971 and the current
Transylvania Community Hospital opened in July 1973.  It had 94 beds when it first opened.  Through the years there have been numerous
improvements and additions to the building and the hospital campus.

In 2008 the name was changed to Transylvania
Regional Hospital and on January 1, 2011 it became affiliated with the Mission
Health System.  Today the Transylvania
Regional Hospital has grown to over 600 employees and 150 volunteers serving
residents of and visitors to Transylvania County.

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