Temple in Bell County, Texas — The American South (West South Central)
Claudia Potter, M.D.
Photographed by James Hulse, September 28, 2022
1. Claudia Potter, M.D. Marker
Claudia Potter graduated from the University of Texas Medical Branch in 1904, the only woman in a class of 23, and only the sixth woman to graduate from the medical department. After an internship at John Sealy Hospital in Galveston, Dr. Potter worked as a physician in San Antonio for a year.
Hired in 1906 by Dr. Arthur C. Scott, Dr. Potter was the first woman to serve as a line physician for the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railway, and as an anesthetist for the Temple Sanitarium. Her initial salary was $420 a year, plus room and board, much less than her male counterparts received.
Dr. Potter was regarded by her peers as the first full time anesthesiologist in Texas, and was the first to administer nitrous oxide by machine. During her tenure, she trained many nurse anesthetists, and helped to develop Temple Sanitarium (Scott & White Hospital) into an outstanding surgical center.
Dr. Potter excelled in her medical specialty and was widely respected. She retired from Scott & White in 1947 after 41 years of service, and died in 1970.
Erected 1997 by Texas Historical Commission. (Marker Number 4098.)
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Location. 31° 4.719′ N, 97° 21.846′ W. Marker is in Temple, Texas, in Bell County. It is at the intersection of South 31st Street and Scott Blvd, on the right when traveling north on South 31st Street. The marker is located at the front entrance to the Baylor Scott and White Medical Center with several other THC historical markers. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 2401 South 31st Street, Temple TX 76504, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Central Texas. It is also in the American South. Globally, it is in North America, a Gulf of Mexico state, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain, the Republic of Texas, and one of the Confederate States of America.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Wilma Carlton (here, next to this marker); Former Site of Scott & White School of Nursing (here, next to this marker); Scott & White Hospital (here, next to this marker); Arthur Carroll Scott, Sr., M.D. (a few steps from this marker); Raleigh R. White, Jr., M.D. (a few steps from this marker); George Valter Brindley, Sr., M.D. (a few steps from this marker); Anna Laura Cole (a few steps from this marker); Log Cabin Study of Dr. Arthur Carroll Scott (approx. 0.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Temple.
Also see . . .
Photographed by James Hulse, September 28, 2022
2. The Claudia Potter, M.D. Marker is the marker on the left of the two markers
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 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 6, 2022, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas.)
Photographed by James Hulse, September 28, 2022
3. The view of all the THC markers in front of the hospital
The Claudia Potter marker is the 1st marker from the left of the 8 THC markers.
Credits. This page was last revised on October 6, 2022. It was originally submitted on October 6, 2022, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas. This page has been viewed 241 times since then and 37 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on October 6, 2022, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas.
