Waring Historical Library

John Edwards Holbrook was born in Beaufort, South Carolina in December 1794. By December 1822, he had opened his medical practice at the intersection of Tradd and Orange Streets. Holbrook joined the Medical Society on March 1, 1824. He was elected to the Medical College’s professorship of Anatomy at his second meeting on April 12, 1824.

In addition to his medical accomplishments, Holbrook was also interested in reptiles, amphibians, and fish. His publications include Southern Ichthyology; or, a Description of the Fishes Inhabiting the Waters of South Carolina, Georgia and Florida (1847-1848), as well as Ichthyology of South Carolina (1855-1857). The illustrations here come from the latter publication!

(Holbrook, John Edwards. 1860. Ichthyology of South Carolina. Charleston, S.C: John Russell.)

Hays Hospital in Clinton, SC, is our featured hospital for this week!

In 1913, Leslie Saint Claire Hays graduated from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University. He eventually returned to Clinton, SC, to found a hospital in 1917. After his first building burned down in a fire, he purchased another in 1927 at 200 S. Woodrow Street and continuously expanded it to better serve his community.

Curious about the hospital’s legacy? The building was purchased by Clinton resident Leonard Pitts to preserve it. In 2022, the building was reopened Legacy at Hays, an apartment building.

Pictured: Postcard showing a color illustration of the Hays Hospital. (MSS 985.022, Waring Historical Library, MUSC, Charleston, SC)