TEMPLE WEATHER

125 years of S&W: Part 1

The first Santa Fe hospital was a wooden structure built in 1892. It was nicknamed The Cow Shed by Temple residents because it resembled a big barn.

Welcome to The Story Diner , where you always get a quick bite of local history.

DAVID STONE | OUR TOWN TEMPLE

In the past few weeks, a couple of occasional mini-series have popped up in Our Town Temple’s own Story Diner.  The first series was Let The Music Play , and we have a long, long way to go and many stories to tell on that topic. We’ve also introduced the first few segments of Bell County from A to Z , short tales about the communities around the area — some of which are long gone.

Today, we start occasional mini-series No. 3, and I’m calling it Scott & White Turns 125 . The anniversary of the alliance formed between Drs. Arthur Carroll Scott Sr. and Raleigh Richardson White Jr. started in December 1897, and we will be hitting the highlights of that long and winding journey to the big hill on 31st Street and beyond.

According to Baylor Scott & White officials, celebration plans are in the works. So, let’s jump right in.

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Santa Fe Railway Hospital, a facility to primarily to serve railroad workers in the Temple area, was built in 1892. It’s not the facility we know today. This structure was built of wood and was added on to at least twice, and around town it was referred to as  The Cow Shed. It did, indeed, resemble a barn.

Dr. Scott was hired as chief surgeon of the growing Santa Fe health-care facility in 1892 and three years later he hired Dr. White as the house physician. The two became friends and shared common goals about the future of medicine in the still-new city of Temple.

It soon became apparent to both White and Scott (I thought I’d give White top billing for a change) that Temple needed a quality hospital for the general pubic — those not associated with the Santa Fe or Katy railroads. The two doctors formed a private practice in 1897 and rented the Temple Bank building Downtown, and the Scott & White era was under way.

Do you have a short tale about Temple or the surrounding area? Share it at OurTownTemple@gmail.com and it may be placed on the menu here at … The Story Diner .

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