History of the Hospital

Petersburg was originally known as Peter’s Point. The settlement was granted its first charter as a town on December 17, 1748. In 1850, the town of Petersburg was consolidated with the nearby settlements of Blandford, Pocahontas, and Ravenscroft to become a city; the third in Virginia with a population of over 14,000. Because of
its location on the Appomattox River, Petersburg was instrumental in the early 18th century as an important commercial trading center. Both the Revolutionary and Civil Wars figure prominently in Petersburg’s history, and Fort Gregg-Adams, a Class 1 military installation, is located nearby.

Petersburg was a hospital center during the Civil War. Dr. John Herbert Claiborne, Senior Surgeon, was in charge of four hospitals housed in converted factories located within the area. In August 1886, the first Petersburg Hospital, called the Home for the Sick, was organized. With a group of fifteen church women acting as managers and ten men as directors, the institution began. In 1891, the hospital was moved to Bragg House on Washington Street. In 1896, the addition of an emergency ward added ten more beds, while a ward devoted to African Americans further increased the capacity of the facility. The original building was later used as a nurses’ home and still later as the pediatric ward of the hospital when the capacity grew to seventy-five beds.

The visits of Dr. Joseph Price of Philadelphia were important events in the early history of the hospital. Dr. Price came from Philadelphia once each year to perform operations, which the staff had arranged for him with the understanding that if one patient paid his regular fee, Dr. Price would operate on any number of others without charge. The number of operations increased from two in 1892 to four in 1893 and grew to 24 in 1894. The operating room was located in a hall on the second floor of the hospital with a pine table board furnished by Dr. Budd as the operating table. The first operating equipment was bought with funds raised from a baseball game. Later the Dunlop Memorial House was used as an operating room and an addition was built, so that in 1910, the hospital was described as a “handsome and up-to-date” place for caring for the sick and infirm of Petersburg.

The need for a new facility was first recognized in the 30s and early 40s when the hospital became inadequate to accommodate the needs and number of patients. A campaign began in 1940 but was stymied by the onset of World War II. After the war, another effort was made to establish a Hospital Campaign when a drive was set up with leading business and professional men who headed various groups of civic and other types of organizations. This newly formed Hospital Authority, whose members were appointed by the mayor, received contributions, pledges and memorial gifts that were generously donated by the citizens of Petersburg.

The Petersburg General Hospital was dedicated on October 14, 1952, with colorful ceremonies at Cameron Field. Following the ceremony, formal tours of the facility were given to the citizens of Petersburg. Eighty-eight patients were transferred from the old hospital to the new one. The new hospital was now in operation.

There has been much progress over the last 55 years. In 1986, to reflect the larger area served, the hospital’s name was changed to Southside Medical Center. In the summer of 2003, Southside Medical Center joined the Community Health Systems network of hospitals as one of more than 133 hospitals nationwide. The new hospital opened in July 2008 and is located off of Interstate 95 between the Wagner and Rives Road exits.