By David Perkins

Prescott is not the typical American town. Its differences primarily arise from its climate, topographical features and its history. Medical care in Prescott has progressed from an era of folk medicine and home remedies to the modern medical care of today.

Prescott’s early growth resulted from its original position as territorial capital and mining center in 1864. It had problems with smallpox, mining accidents and associated illnesses as well as unsanitary conditions but was fortunate in comparison to most other western towns. Immediate medical assistance has been available ever since the town’s founding, as doctors accompanied the original troops to Fort Whipple in 1863 and were able to attend to the general population as well as the troops. Consequently, Prescott was not plagued with quack practitioners and charlatans as were many other frontier towns.

More doctors arrived in 1865; however, many of the townsfolk still handled medical problems in their own way. Aching teeth and gums were poulticed with tobacco. Rope-burned hands were soaked in urine and fresh cow manure was daubed on open wounds. Midwives and grandmas used bleeding as a cure for childbed fever. Family members or midwives delivered most newborns. Needless to say, a high rate of maternal, fetal and child mortality plagued the city.

Miners had their own set of problems. Severe headaches from exposure to blasting were common. Those who worked underground for long periods developed symptoms similar to the bends with muscle spasms, nausea, vomiting and loss of balance. Many developed copper and lead poisoning. The greatest concern, however, was the development of lifelong ailments such as bronchitis, silicosis and tuberculosis.

The doctors at Fort Whipple were using innovative methods for nineteenth century frontier medicine. When assisting deliveries, they used a carbolic acid solution to sanitize their hands, dressings and instruments. Pneumonia was not yet treated adequately – mostly with fresh air and poultices. A doctor at the fort used hydrotherapy to lower body temperature during high fevers.

Two health problems at Fort Whipple and in town were perplexing to deal with because they were self-induced. The first problem was venereal disease which, for years, had been reported among the troops. Prostitution, which was legal until the early 1900s, was the main cause. In 1868, there were ten incurable cases of syphilis. The second problem arose from the lack of any control on the sale of narcotics which made drug addiction common throughout the territory. Opium, morphine and cocaine could all be purchased at the drugstore without prescription. The presence of a Chinese opium den became general knowledge in Prescott. In 1899, a law was passed which restricted the sale of narcotics except by prescription.

During the thirty-five years from 1864 to 1899 an astonishing number of physicians migrated into town. They made house calls, which meant traveling out to farms, ranches, mines and into the mountains when the people who lived in these isolated areas became ill. In order to provide the best available care, they sometimes had to transport these sick people back to town.

By 1878, there was a small hospital in a frame house at Alarcon and Willis Streets operated by three Catholic Sisters from Tucson. It operated there until 1885. In 1889, "Sisters of Mercy" from Phoenix arrived in Prescott to open a small hospital near the Catholic Church on Marina Street (now the Fine Arts Association). It was "moved" in 1898 to a new building on Grove Street (now Avenue) and named "Mercy Hospital." It stood where Prescott College now stands and served the community until it was destroyed by fire in 1940. The Prescott Community Hospital Association was formed to establish a hospital and purchased the vacant Jefferson Elementary school on Marina Street, opening for service in March of 1943. In 1964, the Community Hospital joined with the County Hospital to open a new facility at the present location of Yavapai Regional Medical Center on Willow Creek Road.

Sharlot Hall Museum Photograph Call Number:(bub8142pa) Reuse only bypermission.

Sisters of Mercy Hospital on Grove Street (now Avenue) seen here at the end of the construction in 1898. Originally planned as a sanatorium, it was adapted to serve all sick and injured from 1903 until it burned in 1940. Note the construction workers with their tools and the Sisters in the doorway.

Sharlot Hall Museum Photograph Call Number:(bub8142pf) Reuse only bypermission.

Mercy Hospital, c.1900, in the period when the hospital was used mainly as a sanatorium.

Sharlot Hall Museum Photograph Call Number:(bub8257pa) Reuse only bypermission.

Mercy Hospital, c.1916, after the addition of another wing to the original building.