The Dale General Hospital, located in
Worcester, Massachusetts
Worcester ( , ) is a city and county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city's population was 206,518 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the second-List of cities i ...
, was set up by the Federal Government to care for
Union
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* Trade union, an organization of workers
* Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets
Union may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
Music
* Union (band), an American rock group
** ''Un ...
soldiers principally from
Massachusetts
Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
regiments.
In order to set up hospital quickly, the government leased the campus of a former female college campus on Union Hill, a mile south of the center of the city. To house the patients, fourteen
pavilion
In architecture, ''pavilion'' has several meanings:
* It may be a subsidiary building that is either positioned separately or as an attachment to a main building. Often it is associated with pleasure. In palaces and traditional mansions of Asia ...
s were erected behind the existing building. Each pavilion or barrack was wide, in length and high at the tip of its pitched roof. The former college was used by the physicians, administrators, and staff.
The first patients were admitted in October, 1864 and the formal dedication took place on
Washington's Birthday
Presidents' Day, also called Washington's Birthday at the federal governmental level, is a holiday in the United States celebrated on the third Monday of February to honor all persons who served as presidents of the United States and, since 1879 ...
in the following year. Overall, the hospital treated 1,182 patients. Soon after the close of the
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
, the government terminated the lease and auctioned the barracks and their contents. The Dale General Hospital had a life span of fourteen months. Later on
Isaac Davis bought the building and land to make it into
Worcester Academy
Worcester Academy is a private school in Worcester, Massachusetts. It is the oldest educational institution founded in the city of Worcester, Massachusetts, and one of the oldest day-boarding schools in the United States. A coeducational prepara ...
.
References
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Hospital buildings completed in 1864
American Civil War hospitals
Defunct hospitals in Massachusetts
Hospitals in Worcester, Massachusetts