ED085-S01 · Sources & research leads · See individual source date
YNHH: Winchester Chest Clinic history
William Wirt Winchester Hospital
Sarah Winchester gift and tuberculosis-care legacy.
Read item & source notesCOLLECTION 085 · SGC-ED085
William Wirt Winchester Hospital
West Haven · Hospitals & care
The hospital and the people who kept it running, seen through nine photographs and plates published in 1919.
OPENING / FIRST RECORDED DATEEarly twentieth century; VA transfer 1948
FOUNDED / HISTORICAL PERIODEarly twentieth century; VA transfer 1948
Dates distinguish founding, building opening and later changes; see the chronology below.
LOOK CLOSER · OPEN ANY IMAGE
The story in photographs
Published 1919
Winchester Hospital across the grounds
The main hospital appears beyond its open grounds. The 1919 history describes the Army hospital occupying the William Wirt Winchester memorial buildings. A place associated with tuberculosis care became part of the wartime medical system.
Image credit & source
History and Roster of the United States Army General Hospital No. 16 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1919), scan page 12. Internet Archive / Library of Congress.
Original source · Reuse termsNovember 1918; published 1919
Officers and students, November 1918
Commanding officers, staff and student officers assembled outside the hospital in November 1918. The Armistice month found the medical institution still at work. This seated group portrait records some of the people serving and training there.
Image credit & source
History and Roster of the United States Army General Hospital No. 16 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1919), scan page 17. Internet Archive / Library of Congress.
Original source · Reuse termsNovember 1918; published 1919
A second officers’ portrait, November 1918
Another November 1918 photograph shows commanding officers, staff and student officers standing before the hospital. The uniforms and crowded rows make visible the scale of the medical community; the original caption does not identify each individual.
Image credit & source
History and Roster of the United States Army General Hospital No. 16 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1919), scan page 25. Internet Archive / Library of Congress.
Original source · Reuse termsPublished 1919
Alexius M. Forster, commanding officer
Lieutenant Colonel Alexius M. Forster helped organize the hospital in 1918. The caption dates his command from March 1 to September 14 that year, placing this portrait in the hospital’s first months of Army operation.
Image credit & source
History and Roster of the United States Army General Hospital No. 16 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1919), scan page 31. Internet Archive / Library of Congress.
Original source · Reuse termsPublished 1919
Estes Nichols, the next commanding officer
The 1919 book identifies Lieutenant Colonel Estes Nichols as the hospital’s commanding officer at the time of publication. His portrait forms a counterpart to that of Forster, who led the initial organization.
Image credit & source
History and Roster of the United States Army General Hospital No. 16 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1919), scan page 37. Internet Archive / Library of Congress.
Original source · Reuse termsPublished 1919
The hospital from the south
This southern view shows the main hospital buildings and open ground around them. The long façades, verandas and connecting structures give a sense of the setting in which patients and staff spent their days. Compare it with the northern view to follow the campus around.
Image credit & source
History and Roster of the United States Army General Hospital No. 16 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1919), scan page 43. Internet Archive / Library of Congress.
Original source · Reuse termsPublished 1919
The hospital from the west
Tents stand in a row beside the hospital’s brick buildings in this western view. Cars, exterior stairways and covered connections show everyday movement through the site. The original caption identifies the view but does not assign a use to each tent.
Image credit & source
History and Roster of the United States Army General Hospital No. 16 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1919), scan page 49. Internet Archive / Library of Congress.
Original source · Reuse termsPublished 1919
Red Cross House and the YMCA hut
Two photographs show the Red Cross House and YMCA hut. These spaces placed hospitality, recreation and personal contact alongside medical care. The hospital diary also records Red Cross houses being pressed into service as emergency influenza wards in October 1918.
Image credit & source
History and Roster of the United States Army General Hospital No. 16 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1919), scan page 57. Internet Archive / Library of Congress.
Original source · Reuse termsMarch 1919; published 1919
Officers and students, March 1919
A March 1919 group portrait follows the November photographs across the winter after the Armistice. The caption again identifies commanding officers, staff and student officers. It is a reminder that the work of caring for servicemen continued after the fighting ended.
Image credit & source
History and Roster of the United States Army General Hospital No. 16 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1919), scan page 63. Internet Archive / Library of Congress.
Original source · Reuse termsRead the full story of William Wirt Winchester Hospital
COLLECTION HISTORY
The people behind the place.
On the West Haven grounds of the William Wirt Winchester memorial hospital, the First World War brought a new medical community into being. The Army’s 1919 history describes taking over the memorial buildings and organizing General Hospital No. 16. Its photographs show the larger hospital, tents beside the brick buildings, staff portraits and the smaller places where men could meet, read and spend time away from a bed. [ED085-S05]
The hospital diary begins its account of organization in February 1918. Forster’s portrait identifies his command as March 1–September 14, 1918; a later portrait presents Estes Nichols as the current commanding officer. The portraits, campus views and group photographs together tell a story of an institution built around many kinds of work, much of it performed by people the individual captions do not name. [ED085-S05]
A 1948 photograph records the Veterans’ Administration’s purchase of the property. Yale’s repository reproduces a June 15 New Haven Register caption describing a $600,000 transfer. This is a specific dated ownership event, distinct from the institution’s earlier charitable and tuberculosis-care history. The photograph and caption should be read together rather than used to infer an entire construction chronology. [ED085-S03]
The Red Cross houses and YMCA hut suggest the importance of ordinary companionship within institutional life. They also became part of the response to illness: the diary records Red Cross houses adapted as emergency influenza wards on October 8, 1918. The photographs keep that setting visible while the diary supplies an event that the buildings alone cannot explain. [ED085-S05]
ESTABLISHEDEarly twentieth century; VA transfer 1948
EARLIEST HISTORYEarly twentieth century; VA transfer 1948
Dates distinguish founding, building opening and later changes; see the chronology below.
About this research edition. A collection of documented history, dated images and original record links. Photographs available only at their publishers are labeled separately from locally included images. Unknown dates and conflicting accounts remain visible.
THE SEARCHABLE CATALOG
Images, maps & original records
Search includes catalog notes and the OCR text included with this edition. OCR may misread names or dates; use the original scan to verify a match.
16 of 16 catalog entriesClear filters
ED085-S02 · Sources & research leads · See individual source date
Yale: Winchester Hospital entrance
William Wirt Winchester Hospital
Circa 1920 view reproduced in a 1926 centenary publication.
Read item & source notesED085-S03 · Sources & research leads · See individual source date
Yale: Veterans’ Administration purchase, 1948
William Wirt Winchester Hospital
Repository reproduces June 15, 1948 caption on $600,000 transfer.
Read item & source notesED085-S04 · Sources & research leads · See individual source date
New Haven Hospital annual report, 1919
William Wirt Winchester Hospital
The 1919 hospital history includes campus photographs, staff portraits and a diary of the Army hospital’s organization and wartime operation.
Read item & source notesED-H-HT14 · Photographs · 1948; published June 15, 1948
Veterans' Administration purchases William Wirt Winchester Hospital property, 1948 (Bishop Collection)
William Wirt Winchester Hospital
A June 1948 newspaper photograph documents the transfer of the hospital property to the Veterans' Administration for $600,000.
Read item & source notesED-H-HT15 · Photographs · c. 1920; reproduced 1926
William Wirt Winchester Hospital, c. 1920
William Wirt Winchester Hospital
The Winchester Hospital entrance around 1920 records a West Haven institution associated with tuberculosis care.
Read item & source notesED085-P12 · Photographs · Published 1919
Winchester Hospital across the grounds
William Wirt Winchester Hospital
The main hospital appears beyond its open grounds. The 1919 history describes the Army hospital occupying the William Wirt Winchester memorial buildings. A place associated with tuberculosis care became part of the wartime medical system.
Read item & source notes
ED085-P17 · Photographs · November 1918; published 1919
Officers and students, November 1918
William Wirt Winchester Hospital
Commanding officers, staff and student officers assembled outside the hospital in November 1918. The Armistice month found the medical institution still at work. This seated group portrait records some of the people serving and training there.
Read item & source notes
ED085-P25 · Photographs · November 1918; published 1919
A second officers’ portrait, November 1918
William Wirt Winchester Hospital
Another November 1918 photograph shows commanding officers, staff and student officers standing before the hospital. The uniforms and crowded rows make visible the scale of the medical community; the original caption does not identify each individual.
Read item & source notes
ED085-P31 · Photographs · Published 1919
Alexius M. Forster, commanding officer
William Wirt Winchester Hospital
Lieutenant Colonel Alexius M. Forster helped organize the hospital in 1918. The caption dates his command from March 1 to September 14 that year, placing this portrait in the hospital’s first months of Army operation.
Read item & source notes
ED085-P37 · Photographs · Published 1919
Estes Nichols, the next commanding officer
William Wirt Winchester Hospital
The 1919 book identifies Lieutenant Colonel Estes Nichols as the hospital’s commanding officer at the time of publication. His portrait forms a counterpart to that of Forster, who led the initial organization.
Read item & source notes
ED085-P43 · Photographs · Published 1919
The hospital from the south
William Wirt Winchester Hospital
This southern view shows the main hospital buildings and open ground around them. The long façades, verandas and connecting structures give a sense of the setting in which patients and staff spent their days. Compare it with the northern view to follow the campus around.
Read item & source notes
ED085-P49 · Photographs · Published 1919
The hospital from the west
William Wirt Winchester Hospital
Tents stand in a row beside the hospital’s brick buildings in this western view. Cars, exterior stairways and covered connections show everyday movement through the site. The original caption identifies the view but does not assign a use to each tent.
Read item & source notes
ED085-P57 · Photographs · Published 1919
Red Cross House and the YMCA hut
William Wirt Winchester Hospital
Two photographs show the Red Cross House and YMCA hut. These spaces placed hospitality, recreation and personal contact alongside medical care. The hospital diary also records Red Cross houses being pressed into service as emergency influenza wards in October 1918.
Read item & source notes
ED085-P63 · Photographs · March 1919; published 1919
Officers and students, March 1919
William Wirt Winchester Hospital
A March 1919 group portrait follows the November photographs across the winter after the Armistice. The caption again identifies commanding officers, staff and student officers. It is a reminder that the work of caring for servicemen continued after the fighting ended.
Read item & source notesED085-S05 · Historical publications · 1919
History and Roster of U.S. Army General Hospital No. 16, 1919
William Wirt Winchester Hospital
Contemporary history, campus photographs, officers’ portraits and diary of the Army hospital in the Winchester memorial buildings.
Read item & source notesContinue your research offline.
Extract the ZIP and open START_HERE.html. It includes the catalog, selected images, acquired source text, credits and a searchable SQLite database. New photo additions are hosted in the SGC media library and require an internet connection; original bundled images remain available offline.