Aiken Hospital

Front: The first public hospital in Aiken, at the corner of Richland Ave. and Vaucluse Rd., was built in 1917 for the Aiken Hospital and Relief Society, with donations from members of the “Aiken Winter Colony.” The City of Aiken donated 3 acres of Eustis Park for the hospital and grounds. The hospital, built by local African-American contractor McGhee & McGhee, featured a hexagonal cupola. It closed in 1924 but reopened in 1927 with additional funding. Reverse: The Aiken County Hospital, funded by the Public Works Administration (PWA) and the Duke Foundation, opened in 1936. A four-story brick Colonial Revival building, designed by noted Augusta architect Willis Irvin (1890-1950), it was called “the last word in a modern hospital.” After a new private hospital opened on University Parkway in 1976 the building here housed Aiken County offices for many years.