Inventory of the Slater Hospital Records, 1899 - 1921

Descriptive Summary Administrative Information      Access Restrictions      Copyright Notice      Preferred Citation      Acquisitions Information      Processing Information Historical Note Collection Overview Online Catalog Headings Container List

Winston-Salem State University

Contact Information: Winston-Salem State University Archives C.G. O'Kelly Library Winston-Salem, N.C. 27110 336-750-2455 336-750-2459 http://www.wssu.edu/library/archives

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Descriptive Summary

Repository:	Winston-Salem State University. Archives
Creator:	Slater Hospital Board of Managers
Title:	Slater Hospital Records, 1899-1921
Language of Material:	Material in English
Location:	For current information on the location of these materials, please consult Winston-Salem State University Archives.
Abstract:	The Slater Hospital was a medical facility for African-Americans in Winston-Salem, N.C. It was developed through the efforts of Simon Green Atkins, principal of Slater Industrial Academy, and Richard Joshua Reynolds, founder and president of the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, in 1899, and operated until 1912.
	The Slater Hospital Collection contains the Board of Managers Minutes, 1899-1912, 1919-1921, and 6 other items which document the hospital's development and administration, as well as the facility's subsequent sale to the state for use by Slater Industrial Academy and State Normal School.
Extent:	.2 linear feet, 7 items

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Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research

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Copyright Notice

This material is in the public domain.

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Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Slater Hospital Records (MS 10), Winston-Salem State University Archives, Winston-Salem, NC, USA.

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Acquisitions Information

Donation of Simona Atkins Allen, April 1996.

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Processing Information

Processed by Minnie E.F. Benson, Jan. 1999, and Cat S. McDowell, Mar. 2005

Edited and encoded by Cat S. McDowell, April 2005

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Historical Note

Slater Hospital developed through the efforts of Simon Green Atkins, principal of Slater Industrial Academy and State Normal School, and Richard Joshua Reynolds, founder and president of the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company. In 1899, the lack of proper medical facilities for African-American citizens of Winston, North Carolina, became a concern for both Atkins and Reynolds. Reynolds saw the need for a hospital to provide medical care for his African-American employees and their families. Atkins saw an opportunity to establish a nursing school for African-Americans at Slater that would also service the new facility.

Atkins served as the fundraiser for the physical plant, which was constructed on the campus of the Slater Industrial Academy and Normal School. The November 1899 Plan of Organization and Management of the R. J. Reynolds Hospital Fund stipulated that S.G. Atkins and his associates were to raise a total of $5,000.00, and R. J. Reynolds would provide matching funds. Atkins and his associates were only able to raise $3,665, but Reynolds agreed to match it with cash and property. Thus, construction began on the hospital facility, which was built by John H. Smith, alumnus of Slater Industrial Academy and Normal School. Reynolds drafted another Plan of Organization and Management of the R. J. Reynolds Hospital Fund, providing for the allocation of funds and management of the hospital. This 1900 version contained a clause reverting ownership of the property to Reynolds should the hospital cease to function as such, and stipulated that the hospital would be governed by a seven-member Board of Managers.

On May 11, 1902, the hospital's Board of Managers, in its annual meeting, inspected the new facility and named it Slater Hospital. The grand opening was held on May 14, 1902. The first head nurse for the Slater Hospital in 1902 was Lula Hairston, an alumnus of Slater Normal and Industrial School, class of 1896. Two notable superintendents of Slater Hospital were John A. Blume, who served from 1904 to 1905, and A. J. Brown, who begin his service on August 3, 1905 and served until 1909. Superintendent Brown frequently noted Slater Hospital's debts in his reports, and started a farm on the grounds of the hospital to provide food for the hospital and an income through the sale of surplus food to the community. On April 10, 1909, Simon Green Atkins, F. M. Kennedy, Dr. H. H. Hall, and Dr. W. H. Bruce signed an agreement with the Slater Hospital Board of Managers to lease Slater Hospital for five years. The group then had full control of the hospital and its daily operations. Policies concerning the management and operations of the hospital were changed, but Slater Hospital remained in debt. Due to financial, administrative, and water supply problems, Slater Hospital closed its doors in 1912. Ownership of the property reverted to the Reynolds family, but it was sold to the state of North Carolina for use by the Slater Industrial Academy and State Normal School in 1919. The former Slater Hospital building was converted into use as a men's dormitory.

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Collection Overview

The Slater Hospital Collection documents the Board of Managers' planning and operation of the Slater hospital, as well as financial, administrative, and legal aspects of the hospital and surrounding property. The collection contains handwritten copies of R. J. Reynolds' 1899 and 1900 plans for organization and management in the volume of minutes, as well as a typescript of the latter. The period from 1901 to 1912 is documented through the volume of Board of Managers' minutes. A gap in the records between 1912 and 1919 reflects the hospital's closure in 1912. By 1916, the building had been converted to use as a boy's dormitory for Slater Industrial Academy and State Normal School, although the property officially reverted to ownership by the R.J. Reynolds estate. In 1919, the Slater Hospital Board of Managers initiated efforts to have the property officially purchased by the state of N.C. for Slater School's use. Materials representing this period in the property's history include correspondence between S.G. Atkins and Henry E. Fries, president of Wachovia Loan and Trust and Slater's Board of Trustees, concerning funds to purchase the Slater Hospital and its environs. The Slater Hospital Collection also contains a blueprint survey of the property, printed photograph of the hospital building, and Board of Managers proceedings from this time. These materials are arranged chronologically. The numbered folders contain use copies; original materials are also housed in the box.

Online Catalog Headings

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Container List