Montgomery in Montgomery County, Alabama — The American South (East South Central)

Hale Infirmary
⎯⎯⎯
The Lynching of Willie Temple

Hale Infirmary Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Hilton, October 15, 2023

1. Hale Infirmary Marker

Inscription.

Hale Infirmary, also, The Lynching of Willie Temple. . Hale Infirmary. On this site for nearly seven decades stood Hale Infirmary. It was among 25 hospitals in Alabama, and the first in Montgomery, established during the Black Hospital Movement, an effort to overcome healthcare inequities for African American patients. Until the Civil Rights Movement, most American hospitals did not employ Black nurses or doctors and provided services, if at all, in segregated, substandard wards. , Hale's founder was Cornelius Nathaniel Dorsette, M.D., (1852? - 1897), graduate of Hampton Institute and the University of Buffalo medical school. Dr. Dorsette came to Montgomery in 1883 at the urging of Booker T. Washington and was among the first Black physicians licensed in Alabama. For a time, he was Washington's personal physician. Dr. Dorsette also owned a pharmacy and a Dexter Avenue office building., Dr. Dorsette opened Hale Infirmary in 1890, on land donated by his father-in-law James Hale. A white women's social club helped raise funds to build the two-story structure. It included sixty hospital beds, an isolation ward, and operating room. Black physician Halle Tanner Dillon Johnson, who in 1891 became the first woman licensed to practice medicine in Alabama, was tutored here by Dr. Dorsette. Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. gave a speech to raise funds for the facility. Hale Infirmary closed in 1958. , The Lynching of Willie Temple September 30, 1919. Born in 1894, Willie Temple was the eldest of four children of Montgomery County farmers Lewis and Ella (Shorter) Temple. He worked as a dining car cook for the L&N Railroad. On the night of September 29, 1919, Temple and a friend were returning from a social event when they were approached by a third person and an altercation ensued. Montgomery patrolman J. J. Barbaree encountered the three and attempted to arrest them. Amidst the fray, Temple and the officer exchanged gunfire. Barbaree died of his wounds soon after. Willie Temple, also wounded, was later arrested at a coworker's home on Cedar Street., Police brought Temple to Hale Infirmary for medical care. In the early hours of September 30, a mob of white assailants entered the infirmary, overpowered the two police officers standing guard, and shot Willie Temple to death., The lynching of Willie Temple came during a lengthy period of racial terror throughout America known as the Red Summer, which included at least sixty documented attacks by white mobs and hundreds of individual, violent acts. Temple's murder occurred one day after the lynching in Montgomery of African Americans Miles Phifer and Robert Croskey, who were taken from police custody while en route to Wetumpka. A grand jury empaneled to investigate the three September lynchings brought no indictments.

Hale Infirmary On this site for nearly seven decades stood Hale Infirmary. It was among 25 hospitals in Alabama, and the first in Montgomery, established during the Black Hospital Movement, an effort to overcome healthcare inequities for African American patients. Until the Civil Rights Movement, most American hospitals did not employ Black nurses or doctors and provided services, if at all, in segregated, substandard wards.

Hale's founder was Cornelius Nathaniel Dorsette, M.D., (1852? - 1897), graduate of Hampton Institute and the University of Buffalo medical school. Dr. Dorsette came to Montgomery in 1883 at the urging of Booker T. Washington and was among the first Black physicians licensed in Alabama. For a time, he was Washington's personal physician. Dr. Dorsette also owned a pharmacy and a Dexter Avenue office building.

Dr. Dorsette opened Hale Infirmary in 1890, on land donated by his father-in-law James Hale. A white women's social club helped raise funds to build the two-story structure. It included sixty hospital beds, an isolation ward, and operating room. Black physician Halle Tanner Dillon Johnson, who in 1891 became the first woman licensed to practice medicine in Alabama, was tutored here by Dr. Dorsette. Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. gave a speech to raise

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funds for the facility. Hale Infirmary closed in 1958.

The Lynching of Willie Temple
September 30, 1919 Born in 1894, Willie Temple was the eldest of four children of Montgomery County farmers Lewis and Ella (Shorter) Temple. He worked as a dining car cook for the L&N Railroad. On the night of September 29, 1919, Temple and a friend were returning from a social event when they were approached by a third person and an altercation ensued. Montgomery patrolman J. J. Barbaree encountered the three and attempted to arrest them. Amidst the fray, Temple and the officer exchanged gunfire. Barbaree died of his wounds soon after. Willie Temple, also wounded, was later arrested at a coworker's home on Cedar Street.

Police brought Temple to Hale Infirmary for medical care. In the early hours of September 30, a mob of white assailants entered the infirmary, overpowered the two police officers standing guard, and shot Willie Temple to death.

The lynching of Willie Temple came during a lengthy period of racial terror throughout America known as the Red Summer, which included at least sixty documented attacks by white mobs and hundreds of individual, violent acts. Temple's murder occurred one day after the lynching in Montgomery of African Americans Miles Phifer and Robert Croskey, who were taken from police custody while

The Lynching of Willie Temple Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Hilton, October 15, 2023

2. The Lynching of Willie Temple Marker

en route to Wetumpka. A grand jury empaneled to investigate the three September lynchings brought no indictments.

Erected 2022 by Alabama Historical Association.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Civil Rights • Law Enforcement • Science & Medicine. In addition, it is included in the Alabama Historical Association series list. A significant historical date for this entry is September 30, 1919.

Location. 32° 22.215′ N, 86° 17.543′ W. Marker is in Montgomery, Alabama, in Montgomery County. It is on Lake Street west of Hall Street, on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Montgomery AL 36104, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Alabama’s Tri-Counties River Region.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Deep South,

and in the Black Belt.

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 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: Hall Street Baptist Church (within shouting distance of this marker); Johnnie R. and Arlam Carr, Sr. Home (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Aurelia Eliscera Shines Browder (approx. 0.2 miles away); South Jackson Street / Victor Hugo Tulane (approx. ¼ mile away); Georgia Gilmore (approx. ¼ mile away); Harris House (approx. ¼ mile away); The Hon. Rufus A. Lewis (approx. 0.3 miles away); Minister's Home / Dr. Martin Luther King (approx. 0.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Montgomery.

Another

Former location of the Hale Infirmary. image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Hilton, October 15, 2023

3. Former location of the Hale Infirmary.

marker is no longer nearby. Alabama State University / Tatum Street (was approx. 0.2 miles away but has been confirmed missing).

Also see . . .
1. Hale Infirmary: An Early Alabama Hospital for Blacks. Source: Alabama Yesterdays blog.
Includes photo of hospital building. (Submitted on October 15, 2023, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.)

2. Negro Shot to Death By Mob. From the Bridgeport times and evening farmer. (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1918-1924, September 30, 1919. (Front page 4th column) Name is listed as James Temple. (Submitted on October 15, 2023, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.)

Location of the Lynching of Willie Temple. image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Hilton, October 15, 2023

4. Location of the Lynching of Willie Temple.

Credits. This page was last revised on February 10, 2024. It was originally submitted on October 15, 2023, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. This page has been viewed 1,571 times since then and 100 times this year. Last updated on February 9, 2024, by Gianluca De Fazio of Harrisonburg, Virginia. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on October 15, 2023, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. • James Hulse was the editor who published this page.

Hale Infirmary⎯⎯⎯The Lynching of Willie Temple

Hale Infirmary
⎯⎯⎯
The Lynching of Willie Temple