Old Sycamore Hospital

History

The old hospital building was once home to the 1899, funded and designed by Letitia A. Westgate, at a total cost of $25,000.

In late 1901 the hospital's future was in jeopardy, due to a medical malpractice suit. The city of Sycamore saw that the Sycamore Hospital building could become available on the open market. The city contacted Andrew Carnegie to request a $25,000 grant to purchase and remodel the hospital for use as a library. The city's request for the grant was ultimately approved, albeit for the construction of a new building across the street from the DeKalb County Courthouse.

Westgate left the Sycamore area by 1907 to become the city chemist in Aurora, Illinois. The hospital operated for another ten years but in 1917 the property was acquired by the Elks Club.

References

References

1. Sycamore Historic District Informational Poster, on site, corner of Elm and Somonauk Streets, Sycamore, Illinois. [[:Image:Sycamore Il Poster1.jpg. Photograph on Wikimedia Commons]]. Retrieved February 17, 2007
2. {{NRISref
3. Westgate was Sycamore's first female physician. Sycamore Hospital, then known as Sycamore Surgical Hospital, was the first hospital in [[DeKalb County, Illinois
4. Johnson, Phyllis. [http://www.daily-chronicle.com/articles/2005/05/16/neighbors/neighbors02.txt Sycamore's library starts celebration of first 100 years ]{{Dead link. (January 2026)
5. Bigolin, Steve. [http://www.daily-chronicle.com/articles/2006/10/16/neighbors/neighbors03.txt The Sycamore Historic District: Location 7A]{{Dead link. (January 2026)