Detroit Memorial Hospital

In 1845 the Daughters of Charity founded St. Vincent’s Hospital, the first in Michigan. They moved to the present site in 1850, renaming the hospital St. Mary’s. Here, charitable non-sectarian care included attention to orphans, epidemic victims, and the insane until separate facilities were provided. During the Civil and Spanish-American Wars St. Mary’s served as a military hospital. Gradually it expanded to provide 325 beds and a wide range of medical and teaching services. Extensive remodeling ensured patient comfort and modernized care. Its voluntary closing in 1949 promoted a non-profit corporation of St. Mary’s physicians to purchase and rename the hospital Detroit Memorial. Thus, a long tradition of medical care continues on this site.