The All Souls' Hospital was a Catholic hospital based in

Morristown, New Jersey Morristown () is a town and the county seat of Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. ...

Grey Nuns The Sisters of Charity of Montreal, formerly called The Sisters of Charity of the Hôpital Général of Montreal and more commonly known as the Grey Nuns of Montreal, is a Canadian religious institute of Roman Catholic religious sisters, founde ...

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

. Its founding chair was

Paul Revere Paul Revere (; December 21, 1734 O.S. (January 1, 1735 N.S.)May 10, 1818) was an American silversmith, engraver, early industrialist, Sons of Liberty member, and Patriot and Founding Father. He is best known for his midnight ride to ale ...

, lawyer, civic leader, and great-grandson of American revolutionary figure

. The hospital's goal was to "care orthe diseased, disabled, and infirm, and ther suchcharitable work." Its Morristown location used the historic

Arnold's Tavern Jacob Arnold's Tavern, also known as the Old Arnold Tavern and the Duncan House, was a "famous" historic tavern established by Samuel Arnold circa 1740. Until 1886, it was located in Morristown Green in Morristown, New Jersey. In 1777 it served as ...

building from the 1770s, which was moved from the

Morristown Green Morristown Green, most commonly referred to as the Green, is a historical park located in the center of Morristown, New Jersey. It has an area of two and a half acres and has in the past served as a military base, a militia training ground, ...

Julia Keese Colles Julia Keese Nelson Colles (1840–1913) was an American historian, lecturer, and writer who lived in and studied Morristown, New Jersey. In 1893, she published a collection of Morristown, New Jersey history in ''Authors and Writers Associated w ...

's property. When a 1918 fire destroyed the Tavern, the Hospital was rebuilt across the street and continued to serve the community until the 1970s.

History

Arnold's Tavern

Its Morristown location initially used the historic Arnold's Tavern building from the 1770s. Jacob Arnold's Tavern, originally located in the

, was

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

's winter headquarters from January to May of 1777 and the place of

Benedict Arnold Benedict Arnold ( Brandt (1994), p. 4June 14, 1801) was an American military officer who served during the Revolutionary War. He fought with distinction for the American Continental Army and rose to the rank of major general before defect ...

's first trial in 1780. By 1882, the Tavern was owned by Philip H. Hoffman and Hampton O. Marsh, and multiple retail stores were in the Tavern. The stores were

Adams & Fairchild Adams & Fairchild was a 19th century grocery store located beside the Morristown Green in Morristown, New Jersey. Circa 1882, it operated out of historic 1740s tavern, Arnold's Tavern, notable for its Revolutionary history. When the Arnold's Taver ...

, P. H. Hoffman & Son Clothiers (owned by Hoffman), and the jewelry store of F. J. Crowell. That year, Philip H. Hoffman was the owner of the building, likely along with Hampton O. Marsh. In the spring of 1886, after Marsh's death, P. H. Hoffman "decided to remove the old building, and rectin its stead heHoffman Building." As a result, Arnold's Tavern was scheduled for demolition. To preserve the building, Morristown historian

, a founding member of the Women's Board of the

New Jersey Historical Society The New Jersey Historical Society is a historical society and museum located in Newark, Essex County, New Jersey, United States. The Historical Society is housed in the former headquarters of the Essex Club. It has two floors of exhibition space ...

, arranged to move the building from the Morristown Green to her estate on Mt. Kemble Avenue. In 1893,

described the near-demolition and transition into the hospital:

The old rnold's Tavernbuilding...has recently been purchased and occupied for a hospital by the All Souls' Hospital Association. Though extended and enlarged, it is still the same building and retains many of the distinctive features which characterized it when the residence of Washington.

Colles renovated the Tavern into the "Colonial House," which was "a residence for summer boarders who came to Morristown as a vacation area." After a few years, it was sold at a public auction in 1890, where it was purchased by the Catholic Church to become the All Souls' Hospital.

Hospital

On December 18, 1891, the All-Soul's Hospital opened, operating out of the historic tavern.

, great-grandson of American revolutionary figure

, was the founding chairman and president of the All Souls' Hospital Association. The Association was headquartered at Morristown with branches throughout various

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

es, each of which was represented on the Board of Management. According to Caroline Foster and Barbara Hoskins, "The ballroom was transformed into the chapel while the dining room was the hospital ward." On January 4, 1892, a constitution and set of by-laws were discussed in a general meeting in Bayley Hall, Morristown. In 1910, the late

Augustus Lefebvre Revere Augustus Lefebvre Revere was an American financier, banker, stock broker, and civic leader from Morristown, New Jersey. He was a member of the Morristown Club, the Morristown Golf Club, the Morristown Field Club, and the Washington Association ...

(brother of hospital founder Paul Revere) gave the All Souls' Hospital in Morristown $10,000 as the Paul Revere Memorial Fund, to be used for the erection of a new building.Undated newspaper clipping, “Mr. Revere's Bequests.” Fosterfields cabinet, Subject Research Files > Paul & Augustus Revere. 8 years later, the original Arnold's Tavern building burned down in a fire. Using A. L. Revere's donation, the hospital was rebuilt across the street, on the west side of Mt. Kemble Avenue, which connects to Route 202. All Souls' was set to close because of financial difficulties in the late 1960s. In 1973, it became Community Medical Center. In 1977, the center became bankrupt and was purchased by the then new and larger Morristown Memorial Hospital, which is now the

Morristown Medical Center Morristown Medical Center (MMC) is a 735 bed non-profit, tertiary, research and academic medical center located in Morristown, New Jersey, serving northern New Jersey and the New York metropolitan area. The hospital is the flagship facility of A ...

. The hospital was shut down in August of 2019. It was briefly reopened during the height of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

Legacy

On September 10, 2017, the Morris County Historical Society at

Acorn Hall Acorn Hall is an 1853 Victorian Italianate mansion located at 68 Morris Avenue in Morristown, Morris County, New Jersey. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on April 3, 1973, for its significance in architecture. With It ...

featured the museum as part of its exhibit "The Cutting Edge: Medicine in Morris County."

References

{{Reflist Hospitals in New Jersey Morristown, New Jersey Buildings and structures in Morris County, New Jersey Hospitals established in 1891 1891 establishments in New Jersey Hospitals disestablished in 2019 2019 disestablishments in New Jersey