Nursing in the White City
The Illinois Training School for Nurses directly participated in the World’s Columbian Exposition in 1893. In March of 1891, the Board for the ITSN opted to apply for space to exhibit the work of the school. The goal was to create an emergency hospital within the fairgrounds both demonstrating the capabilities of students and providing relief to attendees needing medical attention. Although initially they planned to be part of the Woman’s Building, due to size constraints, the Illinois Woman’s Exposition Board chose to give the ITSN exhibit their own structure. Below is a letter from Bertha herself to confirm the request for securing space at the fair for the ITSN.
Bertha Honoré Palmer, President of the Board of Lady Managers of the World’s Columbian Exposition, circa 1891
The letter that started it all:
Letter Transcript:
Pg. 1: Mrs. C.B. Lawrence, Dear Madam. Your communication of March seventh is received and the request for the “Illinois Training School for Nurses” for space in the Woman’s building will be placed on file until the committees meet which will probably be in a few weeks.
Pg. 2: It will give me great pleasure to recommend this application to the committee for early and favorable consideration, and you will be notified when action is taken in the matter. Yours most truly, Bertha H. Palmer Tuesday March 10th, 1891.
A Spotlight on Female Physicians and Nurses
Organizing the Emergency Ward was a cooperative effort. The Department of Electricity of the Fair provided electricity for free. Furniture was largely donated by local vendors. Training schools from across Illinois donated dolls dressed in the uniform of their respective schools. The entire building featured state of the art materials, ranging from new dishes and cookware in the Diet Kitchen to modern appliances in the Operating Room. Some 2300 patients obtained aid from the nurses over the course of that summer. As a gesture of thanks for services rendered, the President of the Illinois Woman’s Exposition Board, Marcia Louise Gould, donated the bulk of the furnishings to the ITSN at the close of the Exposition. This space also allowed female physicians to showcase their expertise and skillset to the visitors of the fair by offering primary care to those who needed it at the fair, a role usually reserved for men.
The letter is signed by three female physicians:
Dr. Sarah Hackett Stevenson, who graduated from Illinois State University, eventually completing her medical training at the Women’s Medical College in 1874. (The college was taken over by Northwestern University and renamed the Northwestern University Woman’s Medical School in 1892 until its disbanding a decade later). Stevenson was the first female member of the American Medical Association and the first female on staff at the Cook County Hospital. 1
Dr. Julia Holmes Smith was prominent suffragist and physician. She attended both the Boston University School of Medicine, and the Chicago Homeopathic Medical College. Smith was renowned for her work as a general practitioner and as gynecologist. She had a practice in Chicago. Smith holds the distinction of being the first female trustee appointed to the University of Illinois.2
Finally, Dr. Marie E Reasner was a prominent eclectic physician. More research needs to be conducted into Dr. Reasner, but an obituary in a Michigan Newspaper mentions she hailed from New York and she operated a practice in Chicago for two decades. Reasner was a gifted orator, and she used her gift to to advocate for eclectic medicine practice, and the inclusion of women in the broader medical field. 3
Read More About The Emergency Ward Below
- Footnote content.
- https://documents.alexanderstreet.com/d/1009639935
- https://aadl.org/node/142046
