Wednesday, September 5, 2012

The Abandoned Horner Memorial Nurses Home, Brownsville, PA



This post is near and dear to my heart as,you may or not know, I am a nurse. There is a proud tradition in nursing of our history and the struggles of nurses. The role of nursing in the early days was not a glamorous one. Duties of a nurse in the early 1900s may have included stoking coal stoves, cooking, cleaning as well as the actual patient care. A far cry from our computer assisted nursing of today.

I graduated from the Washington Hospital School of Nursing, which itself is over 100 years old. Walking through the halls and looking at the class photos was a true trip through time. I recall a graduating class of one! Perhaps we need to revisit my old school, as it is a treasure trove of history in itself.

Today's post is a look at another nearby hospital based nurses dorm/nursing school. I'm ashamed to say I was only recently aware of its existence. Once again, Brownsville, Pa has provided us with an amazing old building who, as far as I know.has an uncertain future. Let me back up a bit....



Saturday started with a trip to the Fredricktown, Pa Ferryboat Festival.  The ferry wasn't running , (see video in previous post here ) so we decided to go to our old stand-by, Brownsville.  After a quick stop at another location which you will see soon, we headed up the hill to the old hospital, which I have never seen. We laughed as we pulled up to see a crew of several fellow explorers, tripods in hand, debating entrance to the old nurses home. We jokingly told them to "get off our turf" and quickly parked the rental and introduced ourselves. While Evan was talking to the guys I whispered to the young lady in the group who was eager to check the place out."C'mon...lets go!" We darted across the street and into the unlocked door. Being broad daylight and an unplanned trip, my photos aren't Danielle quality. I grabbed some quick shots and Evan and I decided to let the other kids take this one. It is a beautiful ole place with a lot of history. Rather than copy and paste, I'm gonna send you to:
 http://www.abandonedonline.net/hospitals/brownsville-general-hospital/. This is a great site with a ton of info on the buildings. Another thing I like about this site is their references are properly cited...which I learned to do...in nursing school. Enjoy the shots!


 
 
 








And a few of the old Brownsville General Hospital across the street.










27 comments:

  1. I wonder what kind of condition the furniture is in...I would love to have some of it.

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  2. Hannah Millward FisherDecember 30, 2012 at 10:46 AM

    I'm also a graduate of Washington Hospital and interviewed two or three nurses from Brownsville General in 1989. One graduated in 1924, the other in the forties. Brownsville Hospital School of Nursing even produced a yearbook in 1929 which I have. The graduates I interviewed didn't even know about the yearbook. The one nurse I interviewed was in the first class.
    I was born in Brownsville General.

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    1. Pretty neat, Hannah. I'd be interested to see some pictures from there of the building in their glory...... If you can scan one, of even take a picture of the picture, that'd be great!

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    2. I'm looking for my Grandmother. Amy Elizabeth Pearce, class 1924. I have never seen her photo

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  3. who can i contact about seeing it in person?

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  4. My wife and I recently visited Brownsville and viewed the Horner Nurses Home and the Hospital. We only viewed the outside. The Nurses home was built with a donation of 200k by Joseph Horner of the Horner Coal mine. 10 Mile Creek. We also visited the train museum across the street. They said the nurses home closed when the hospital closed down and it became a care home for miners etc. I've been following my ancestry and am a distant relative of these Horners. The original Horner farm is in E. Millsboro where most of my Horners were buried. Any other Horners interested in getting in touch with me following is my info.
    tomdhorner@yahoo.com 828-551-1234
    828-5551-1234 tomdhorner@yahoo.com

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    1. My grandmother graduated in 1924. Do you know how I can get a photo? You can call me 530 616-1638, my name is Elizabeth, I'm looking for any info

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  5. Is it haunted and was there death at the home

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    1. I'm sure there were many deaths at the Golden Age Nursing home (aka Horner Memorial Nurses' Home).
      Golden Age was open for 20yrs until it closed in 1985, amid law suits & allegations of poor patient care and deplorable living conditions.

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  6. We receive many comments asking if a certain place is "haunted". We focus mainly on the historical aspect of the places we explore but we do love a good ghost story as much as the next guy. As far as this place, I'm unsure of any supernatural history. I can tell you one thing...if you are going to find that kind of activity, old hospitals and asylums would be the place to start. If we get any more info,we'll post it in an upcoming update.

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  7. who now own that former hospital property? Would love to go and explore....

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  8. As of this date, do we know if this place still stands? I'm only about 20 minutes away & I am a big follower of urban explorers. This would make a fine Sunday afternoon trip.

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    1. Yes they both still stand. They look just as they do in these pictures. Except the front doors and windows are board up. My grandmother lives across the street. Ive been inside both of these buildings.

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    2. Megan Warnick would love to talk to you more about these places shannon_r87@yahoo.com

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  9. Good morning! Does anyone know the address to put into the GPS to find these two buildings? We used the address that was listed as 'permanently closed' on Google, but it took me to the occupied (I'm guessing) newer facitlity? There was lights on and nothing was boarded up. If anyone has any insight? Much appreciated!

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  10. Intersection of Church St. and 5th Ave. puts you right there. Both are still extant but the hospital is decaying rapidly.

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  11. Intersection of Church St. and 5th Ave. puts you right there. Both are still extant but the hospital is decaying rapidly.

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  12. If anybody is interested in going inside the hospital portion, simply walk BEHIND it. The road connects with a little asphalt portion that goes right up to the campus, if you will. There is no fence. Just walk right in. There's a small building that held the nurses' quarters way back when. It will be on your left when you enter the campus from the back. On the front side of that building, you can enter the bottom floor through a doorframe that is completely open. To acces the top floor, I recommend not taking the stairs. You will find a little "ledge" to the front left of the nurses' building. Step up on it and head up the steep "trail" until you reach some solid land again. (It's only about a fifteen feet high. You can get up there fine by holding onto some branches and vines.) you will walk to your left and the second floor is wide open. It features the top of the elevator shaft, a top floor laundry room (the laundry room on the bottom floor of this building is amazing. It features a large industrial iron. Be careful, the floor has fallen in and is very 'soft' in some sections

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    1. How can I research getting a photo of my grandma, Any Elizabeth Pearce, class of 1924

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  13. i used to live behind the old hospital :) both building are still around, the hospital is in rough shape-basement's the safest part and even then you've got falling floors to worry about-but oh is it beautiful. my old house is abandoned now too-i invite explorers to check it out <3 end of baltimore st., last house on the left. there's a blue abandoned house next door with some real creepy cages and a dungeon room in the basement-so creepy haha! all of brownsville is so beautiful and i recommend it to any explorers :)

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  14. like to get into that 1812 bank! wont you get arrested going in these places or don't they care?

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  15. Jean Porter Gishnock ShamsiAugust 12, 2018 at 11:38 PM

    I graduated Washington Hospital School of Nsg, closed now...My mother attended Brownsville School of Nsg, then worked at the Hospital, then the new (now also closed) hospital on the hill, then back at Brownsville Hospital when it was the Golden Manor, my brother and I had out tonsils taken out at the old hospital in 1956. Attended St. Peter's School on the hill behind the hospital, got baptized, first communion, confirmation and married in St. Peter's Church. my dad had Porter's Paint and Glass shop which is now Nufry's barber shop right down the block until he moved the business to Hiller in 1963. Lots of memories. Brownsville was booming then, every store opened, nowhere to park. Movies at the Plaza and lunch at Francis Rest. or the counter at Thrift, or Fiddles or Loverdi's dairy bar, and Browns lunch counter too..Those were the real good days.

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    1. My grandmother graduated from there in 1924, do you know how to get graduation photos of Amy Elizabeth Pearce, 1924

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  16. I've been here several times. I was there today & wouldn't recommend going inside. Very dangerous. It won't be long before it comes crumbling down on it's own. Especially with all the rain this past year, the water was pouring in from everywhere.

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  17. My husband was born in that hospital in 1953. His family lived in Brownsville for many years, some still do, in fact. We plan to visit next month and I'm sure he will be surprised to see the hospital, though empty, is still standing.

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  18. I really think both the hospital and nursing home should be torn down before it collapses and hurts someone There is bus stop there where my daughter gets on the bus

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  19. Its very interesting and very historical. My opinion if they plan to let it set there at least restore it for a museum if not take it down . Very bad shape

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