Vassar Brothers Medical Center History

Cover Image:
Vassar Brothers Medical Center History
Original Vassar Brothers Hospital Building and Home I from Outside the Gate 1900s - Image Source

Collection Facts

Extent:
716

Historical Context

Established in 1884 on Henry Livingston farmland along the Hudson River, Vassar Brothers Hospital opened on April 11, 1887 and treated 80 patients in its first year. A training school for nurses was established in 1890, and a stone wall was erected around the perimeter of the 17 acres. Inside those walls and over more than a century of time was a constantly expanding cluster of buildings and additions which served to broaden the scope of treatments, surgeries and services offered to patients in the City of Poughkeepsie and surrounding communities.

Scope of Collection

This collection contains photographs, items, memorabilia and ledgers from 1887 to the 1990s. It also contains the original Board of Trustees meeting minutes from 1884 to the 1920s, accounting ledger from the 1880s-1890s, several historical compilations, fund-raising advertisements, newspaper clippings from the 1920s to the 1940s, and photo albums.