Durkeeville in Jacksonville in Duval County, Florida — The American South (South Atlantic)

Brewster Hospital

Historic African-American Sites

— Durkeeville Historical Society —

Brewster Hospital Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Brandon D Cross

1. Brewster Hospital Marker

Inscription. In 1931 the red brick building that housed Brewster Hospital, the first private medical facility available to African Americans in Jacksonville opened.

Brewster Hospital evolved out of a class to train African-American women as nurses at the Boylan Industrial Home and School for African-American young women. The school was conducted by Hattie E. Emerson of the Women's Home Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church. This first school of nursing was on Monroe Street in Lavilla, near the downtown area of the city.

Brewster Hospital operated until 1966, when it was acquired by Shands Medical Center and converted into a hospice facility. The building was demolished in 2006.

(caption)
Brewster Hospital (around 1940)
Photo courtesy of the City of Jacksonville

Erected by Comcast, the Northwest Jacksonville CDC and the Durkeeville Historical Society.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Education • Science & Medicine • Women. A significant historical year for this entry is 1931.

Location. 30° 20.641′ N, 81° 39.8′ W. Marker is in Jacksonville, Florida, in Duval County. It is in Durkeeville. It is at the intersection of

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North Jefferson Street and 6th Street, on the left when traveling north on North Jefferson Street. The marker is located on the grounds and in front of the Jacksonville 1 VA Clinic. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1536 North Jefferson Street, Jacksonville FL 32202, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Florida’s First Coast.

It is also in the American South.

Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

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 territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Sugar Hill (here, next to this marker); Jefferson Street Pool (approx. 0.2 miles away); Mid-Westside Jacksonville (approx. half a mile away); Durkeeville (approx. half a mile away); St. Joseph Missionary Baptist Church (approx. half a mile away); Henry John Klutho (approx. 0.6 miles away); Second Missionary Baptist Church of LaVilla (approx. 0.6 miles away); Bethel Baptist Institutional Church (approx. 0.6 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Jacksonville.

Also see . . . Black History Month: Brewster Hospital- Jacksonville’s First Hospital for African Americans. (Submitted on December 4, 2023, by Brandon D Cross of Flagler Beach, Florida.)

Photographed by Brandon D Cross

2. Brewster Hospital Marker

Brewster Hospital’s children’s ward 1947 image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Florida Memory photo SP00950

3. Brewster Hospital’s children’s ward 1947

Credits. This page was last revised on December 5, 2023. It was originally submitted on December 4, 2023, by Brandon D Cross of Flagler Beach, Florida. This page has been viewed 324 times since then and 37 times this year. Last updated on December 4, 2023, by Brandon D Cross of Flagler Beach, Florida. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on December 4, 2023, by Brandon D Cross of Flagler Beach, Florida. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.