George Washington Watts (18 August 1851 – 7 March 1921) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

manufacturer, financier and philanthropist. Alongside

James B. Duke James Buchanan Duke (December 23, 1856 – October 10, 1925) was an American tobacco and electric power industrialist best known for the introduction of modern cigarette manufacture and marketing, and his involvement with Duke Universit ...

, he co-founded the American Tobacco Company. He also founded Watts Hospital, which was the first hospital in

Durham, North Carolina Durham ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Durham County, North Carolina, Durham County. Small portions of the city limits extend into Orange County, North Carolina, Orange County and Wake County, North Carol ...

, and prompted the establishment of

Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...

Biography

Born in Cumberland, Maryland, George W. Watts was the son of Gerard Snowden Watts and Ann Elizabeth Wolvington. He received his early education in private schools in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was d ...

, and graduated from the University of Maryland in 1871 with a degree in civil engineering. Watts married Laura V. Beall in 1875. The two had one child together, Annie Louise Watts, before separating in 1915. Two years later, He married Virginia Ecker, whom he stayed with until his death in 1921. After graduation, Watts joined his father's tobacco commission business in Baltimore. Becoming associated with Washington Duke of Durham, North Carolina in 1878, he helped organize and incorporate W. Duke Sons and Company, a tobacco business of which he became a stockholder, secretary, and treasurer. However, being the only non-family member in the company created some animosity between Watts and the oldest Duke son, Brodie. This resentment resulted in Brodie purchasing multiple streets in Durham, North Carolina, and naming them so they read "Washington, Hated, Watts," referring to his father, Washington Duke. Years later, "Hated St." was changed to "Gregson St." In 1890, Watts helped organize the American Tobacco Co. and in 1892, the Erwin Cotton Mills Company. Invested in the welfare of his employees, Watts built libraries, parks, and playgrounds for them. He also built and endowed Watts Hospital in Durham, North Carolina. Watts was heavily involved in other businesses as well, as listed below: * President: Pearl Cotton Mill, Home Savings Bank and Trust (co-founder), Commonwealth Club of Durham * Vice-President: Locke Cotton Mill * Director: Seaboard Air Line, Durham and Southern Railway Company, Virginia-Carolina Chemical Company,

Southern Cotton Oil Company Southern Cotton Oil Company, also known as Columbia Mill, was a historic cottonseed oil complex located at Columbia, South Carolina. The complex was built between 1887 and 1919. It consisted of seven industrial buildings: the Seed House, Linter ...

, Fidelity Bank,

Durham Loan & Trust Company Central Carolina Bank and Trust (CCB) was a bank headquartered in Durham, North Carolina. It began in 1961 with the merger of Durham Bank & Trust and University National Bank of Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Central Carolina Bank and Trust merged wit ...

(co-founded with his son-in-law

John Sprunt Hill John Sprunt Hill (March 17, 1869 – July 29, 1961) was a North Carolina lawyer, banker and philanthropist who played a fundamental role in the civic and social development of Durham, North Carolina, the expansion of the University of North Ca ...

)

Watts Hospital Legacy

Duke University

By 1922, Watts Hospital's quality of care and philanthropic mission to provide healthcare to the working poor was so well-regarded that

and North Carolina Governor

Cameron Morrison Cameron A. Morrison (October 5, 1869August 20, 1953) was an American politician and the 55th governor of the U.S. state of North Carolina from 1921 to 1925. Early life and career He was born in 1869 in Richmond County, North Carolina. In ...

proposed the creation of the state's first four-year medical college,

. The goal was to educate students in conjunction with clinical services provided at Watts Hospital.

Watts School of Nursing

In addition to founding the clinical hospital, George Watts also established the Watts Hospital Training School for Nurses at the hospital, in 1895. It was then renamed the Watts School of Nursing (Watts SON), and had its first graduate, Ethel Clay, in 1897. Watts SON has been housed at Durham Regional Hospital since 1976, and is now a part of the Duke University Health System.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Watts, George Washington 1851 births 1921 deaths University of Maryland, College Park alumni Businesspeople from Cumberland, Maryland Businesspeople from Durham, North Carolina American manufacturing businesspeople American chief executives American philanthropists American bankers