St. Joseph's Hospital
Paris, Lamar County, Texas
Marker Inscription
In 1911 the Catholic bishop of Dallas, Joseph Patrick Lynch (1872-1954), beseeched the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word to administer St. Joseph's Infirmary in Paris. The congregation, based in San Antonio and experienced in hospital care, dispatched six Sisters by train. They arrived in Paris in August, and began refurbishing the 2-story, 16-room frame infirmary on this site. The building had been converted about 1908 from St. Patrick's Academy (established in 1898), but was later abandoned. The Sisters' first patient was admitted on October 1, 1911. Within three years Bishop Lynch dedicated a new 4-story brick infirmary here. When much of Paris was consumed by fire on March 21, 1916, St. Joseph's survived with its own power and light plant. Doctors' offices and school classes were welcomed in the infirmary. World War II ended the Depression and brought an army camp to Paris, with St. Joseph's serving the military and dependents who arrived. The 1914 building and hospital services were expanded during and after the war, directly supporting the economic growth of Paris. In 1963 a campaign was launched by the congregation and local supporters to build a new hospital, dedicated here in 1968. The facility and services have been frequently expanded to serve a large surrounding region. Texas Sesquicentennial 1836 - 1986
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
In 1911 the Catholic bishop of Dallas asked the San Antonio–based Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word to take over a struggling infirmary in Paris, and six Sisters arrived by train to refurbish the 16-room frame building. They admitted their first patient that October, and within three years a new four-story brick hospital rose here — one that survived the great Paris fire of 1916 on its own power plant. The Sisters expanded St. Joseph's through the Depression and World War II and built a wholly new hospital in 1968.
Why it matters
St. Joseph's reflects the outsized role of Catholic religious orders — and of women in particular — in building the hospitals that served small-town and rural America.
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Related people
- · Bishop Joseph Patrick Lynch
- · Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word
Related events
- · 1916 Paris fire
Themes & tags
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