By Loretta Fulton

Once only a dream, Hendrick Medical Center now has a historical marker of its own.

The marker, issued by the Texas Historical Commission, will be unveiled at a public ceremony at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 14, outside the main entrance.

West Texas Baptist Sanitarium, the hospital’s original name, opened on Sept. 15, 1924. It was the dream of Rev. Millard A. Jenkins, pastor of First Baptist Church. Jenkins led the drive to raise funds for the construction of the hospital after a vote to build a countywide hospital failed in 1921. 

The sanitarium was renamed Hendrick Memorial Hospital in 1936, a year after Thomas Gould and Ida Nations Hendrick gave $40,000 to pay of the mortgage and another $100,000 for a new wing. That same year, the Hendricks gave Hardin-Simmons University $100,000 to relieve debt. And, three years later, in 1939, they would open their beloved Hendrick Home for Children. 

Known today as Hendrick Medical Center, the hospital is part of the Hendrick Health system. In 2020, the system expanded to three hospitals–Hendrick North and Hendrick South in Abilene and Hendrick Medical Center in Brownwood.

Hendrick Health centennial book cover

To commemorate the centennial last year, local historian Jay Moore was commissioned to write  a book, titled, “Hendrick Health: A Century of Healing Ministry.”  

The book is available at Texas Star Trading Company, 174 Cypress St. A promotional blurb on the store’s website says:

“(The book) chronicles the history of the hospital through 100 profiles of doctors, nurses, administrators, technicians, staffers, board members, benefactors, and volunteers who represent the efforts of thousands of dedicated employees and supporters in Hendrick’s first century of service to Abilene and the surrounding area.” 

Loretta Fulton is creator and editor of Spirit of Abilene