Temple in Bell County, Texas — The American South (West South Central)

Claudia Potter, M.D.

(February 3, 1881 - February 2, 1970)

Photographed By James Hulse, September 28, 2022

1. Claudia Potter, M.D. Marker

Inscription. Born in Denton County, Claudia Potter was one of eight children of William T.C. and Laura Smith Potter. A graduate of the University of Texas Medical Branch in 1904, Dr. Potter was the first woman doctor at Scott & White hospital, and was a pioneering physician in the medical specialty of anesthesiology. Dr. Potter excelled at her career and was widely respected. After 41 years at Scott & White, she retired in 1947. Recorded - 1997

Erected 1997 by Texas Historical Commission. (Marker Number 909.)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Cemeteries & Burial Sites • Science & Medicine • Women. A significant historical year for this entry is 1904.

Location. 31° 6.736′ N, 97° 20.1′ W. Marker is in Temple, Texas, in Bell County. Marker can be reached from the intersection of North Front Street and East Shell Avenue. The marker is located in the southwest section of the Hillcrest Cemetery. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1873 North Front Street, Temple TX 76501, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Arthur Carroll Scott, Sr., M.D. (within shouting distance of this marker); Nora Lee Mayhew Wendland (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); George Valter Brindley, Sr., M.D.

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(about 600 feet away); Hillcrest Cemetery (about 700 feet away); Raleigh R. White, Jr., M.D. (approx. 0.2 miles away); Cyrus Maxwell Campbell (approx. ¼ mile away); Raleigh Richardson White, Sr. (approx. 0.3 miles away); Yee Pat Ling (approx. 0.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Temple.

Also see . . .
1. Potter, Claudia (1881–1970). Texas State Historical Association

Until the 1930s it was customary in Texas for general anesthetics such as ether, ethyl chloride, chloroform, and nitrous oxide to be administered by medical students, interns, or nurses under the supervision of the surgeon doing the operation. Dr. Potter, who was probably the first full-time physician anesthetist in Texas, did much to improve techniques of administering anesthetics. In 1908 she went to Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore to study the use of nitrous oxide gas anesthesia. While there she purchased a gas machine for administering nitrous oxide for use at Scott and White. She is credited with being the first physician to administer gas anesthesia in a Texas hospital. Up until that time ether
Photographed By James Hulse, September 28, 2022

2. The Claudia Potter, M.D. Marker and Gravestone
or chloroform was administered as a liquid by drip procedures. When ethylene gas was introduced into use in the United States in 1923, Potter investigated its use and, finding it an improvement over other anesthetics, introduced its use at Scott and White.

(Submitted on October 3, 2022, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas.)

2. Scott and White Memorial Hospital. Texas State Historical Association

The hospital was first called Temple Sanitarium, but in 1922 the name was changed to Scott and White Hospital. White died in 1917, and Scott stayed at the hospital until his death in 1940. Other early doctors were Olin F. Gober (1905), and Claudia Potter (1906). The original partnership grew into one of the five largest private group medical practices in the United States. Doctors Marcell W. Sherwood and George V. Brindley, Sr., became partners and cofounders of the Scott, Sherwood, and Brindley Foundation, which now owns the hospital's physical assets.

(Submitted on October 3, 2022, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas.)

The view of the Claudia Potter, M.D. Marker in the cemetery image. Click for full size.

Photographed By James Hulse, September 28, 2022

3. The view of the Claudia Potter, M.D. Marker in the cemetery

Credits. This page was last revised on October 3, 2022. It was originally submitted on October 3, 2022, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas. This page has been viewed 120 times since then and 19 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on October 3, 2022, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas.