Finding Aid of the Clarence Barker Memorial Hospital and School for Nurses Annual Report, 1918, ORG.7020
Descriptive Summary
- Title
- The Clarence Barker Memorial Hospital and School for Nurses Annual Report, 1918
- Call Number
- ORG.7020
- Creator
- Clarence Barker Memorial Hospital and School for Nurses
- Date
- 1918
- Extent
- 0.010 cubic feet
- Repository
- Western Regional Archives, State Archives of North Carolina
Restrictions on Access & Use
Access Restrictions
Available for research
Use Restrictions
Images may be subject to copyright. State Archives does not own copyright to images in this collection. Copyright is retained by the authors of these materials, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law (Title 17 US Code). Individual researchers are responsible for using these materials in conformance with copyright law as well as any donor restrictions accompanying the materials.
Available for research
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], ORG.7020, The Clarence Barker Memorial Hospital and School for Nurses Annual Report, 1918, State Archives of North Carolina, Western Regional Archives, Asheville, NC, USA.
Biographical/Historical
The Clarence Barker Memorial Hospital and Dispensary was founded in 1899 by Mrs. Adele
Elma Barker Schmidt and Mrs. Virginia Purdy Barker Bacon as a memorial to their brother.
Clarence Johnson Barker was a cousin and confidant of George Washington Vanderbilt
of the Biltmore Estate. In fact, it was at Biltmore where the 31-year-old Barker died
of pneumonia in February 1896.
The hospital was built in Biltmore Village, and after it was discovered to be "inadequate
to meet the needs of the sick and suffering who wished to receive its care," "a very
considerable addition was made by the late Mr. George W. Vanderbilt," in 1902. An
additional wing was added in 1915, financed by Mrs. Edith Vanderbilt and Mrs. Ellen
Vanderbilt as memorials to their late husbands, George and Alfred respectively.
The Clarence Barker Memorial Hospital, also known as Biltmore Hospital, was incorporated
under the laws of North Carolina. The charter called for the Rector, Wardens, and
Vestry of All Souls Cathedral to act as the hospital's governing board, however the
affiliation with All Souls ended in 1919 when a new independent Board of Directors
took over.
Two fires during the winter of 1921 caused significant damage to the original building.
Edith Vanderbilt donated 15 acres of land adjacent to the original site where a new
Biltmore Hospital was completed around 1930. Both buildings have been repurposed and
are still in use.