St. John's Hospital

The Handbook of Texas calls St. John's the oldest nonmilitary hospital in West Texas; the area's first hospital had been the post hospital at Fort Concho in the 1870s. Others followed. The Angelo Community Hospital, a locally owned nonprofit, was organized in 1929, and the estate of Margaret Shannon founded the Shannon Medical Center in 1932, which became the region's largest acute-care facility. River Crest Hospital opened in 1988 for psychiatric and chemical dependency care, and the Baptist Memorial Geriatric Hospital was the only geriatric hospital in West Texas providing long-term care.

What the plaque says

In 1909, San Angelo had a population of 15,000 and no hospital to serve the needs of its people. That year the San Angelo Business Club, forerunner of the Chamber of Commerce, appealed to the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word of San Antonio for help in establishing a hospital. The Roman Catholic religious order had founded several sanitariums throughout the state since coming to Texas in 1866. Land at this site, then several miles east of the city, was secured, and a four-story, red brick hospital building was constructed. Under the direction of the Sisters, St. John's Sanitarium opened in October 1910. Few patients were treated during its first year of operation because they had to travel the distance from San Angelo on inadequate roads. The sisters were often paid for their services with farm products. As the first hospital of its size in West Texas, St. John's has served the area well. It was one of the region's pioneers in the usage of x-ray equipment, penicillin, and other medical innovations. Over the years, additional facilities have been built as demand for services has increased. In 1970, the original building was razed, but the institution has continued to uphold the ideals and traditions on which it was founded. (1985)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts — 2.0 mi
  A free art museum on the Concho beside Fort Concho, founded in the fort's 1868 quartermaster building and known nationally for its biennial ceramics competition.
• Miss Hattie's Bordello Museum — 2.0 mi
  The upstairs rooms on Concho Avenue where a brothel ran from 1902 until the Texas Rangers closed it in 1952, shown on short guided tours with most of the furnishings original.
• Fort Concho National Historic Landmark — 2.0 mi
  The stone post at the forks of the Concho, headquarters of the Tenth Cavalry from 1875 to 1882, saved by a woman with a museum and now a city-run landmark of 23 original buildings.
• Concho River Walk — 2.6 mi
  Four miles of lit trails along the North Concho through downtown San Angelo, rebuilt after voters taxed themselves in 2004, with gardens, sculpture, a river stage and stocked trout.

More markers nearby

• Cornick Bungalows — 1.7 mi
• Sacred Heart Catholic Church — 2.0 mi
• First Baptist Church of San Angelo — 2.0 mi
• First United Methodist Church of San Angelo — 2.0 mi