King's Daughters Hospital School of Nursing
Temple, Bell County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Nursing training was implemented at King's Daughters Hospital from as early as 1897, and formal two-year classes began in 1903. In 1906, the hospital revised its charter to officially include a nurses' training school and the curriculum expanded to three years about 1910. Mary Julia Putts provided outstanding leadership as director in the 1920s. In difficult Depression years, an expanded curriculum and facilities helped the school survive, but a shortage of enrollees caused it to close its doors in 1948. The hospital began its own vocational nursing program in 1954. School alumnae formed an association in 1921 and served with distinction in both world wars. (1998)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Nurse training began at Temple's King's Daughters Hospital as early as 1897, and formal classes started in 1903; by 1906 the hospital chartered an official nurses' school, extending its program to three years. Under leaders like director Mary Julia Putts, the school endured even the lean Depression years before a shortage of enrollees forced it to close in 1948. Its alumnae organized in 1921 and served in both world wars.
Why it matters
The school reflects how women entered professional nursing through hospital-based training programs, sending skilled caregivers into hospitals and onto the battlefronts of two world wars.
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Related people
- · Mary Julia Putts
Themes & tags
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