Homeopathic Hospital, founded in 1888, was Wilmington’s first hospital. Its founding reflects the era’s conflict between allopathic and homeopathic medicine—the two approaches to medicine would not share the same building. The hospital opened in the building that had been Heald’s Hygeian Home, a private hospital, at Van Buren Street and Shallcross Avenue. It offered care to all, without regard to age, gender, color, religion or ability to pay. This photo shows the hospital’s staff posing on the porch. The sign lists visiting hours for various hospital departments. In 1940, it was renamed Memorial Hospital and began to offer allopathic as well as homeopathic care. Memorial Hospital closed in 1985.
