Hammond General Hospital
Hammond General Hospital, or Hammond Army Hospital, was a large United States Army medical treatment facility during World War II, located in the city of Modesto in Stanislaus County, California, and in operation from 1942 until 1946. The facility was preceded by the Modesto State Hospital, a public psychiatric hospital in operation from 1946 to 1972.
History
Hammond General Hospital operated on 267 acres of land in Modesto, California purchased from the County of Stanislaus. Hammond General Hospital is named after Brigadier General William A. Hammond. William A. Hammond was appointed US Army Surgeon General by President Abraham Lincoln in 1862. William A. Hammond also founded the American Neurological Association in 1875.The general hospital opened in 1942 with 2,540 beds to serve wounded servicemen. By the end of war, in 1945, the Hospital had 2,556-beds. The Hospital had 240 buildings that included 78 wards, convalescent wards, clinics, barracks, offices, warehouses, 6 mess halls, water treatment pump houses, laundry houses and utility shops. While serving the U.S. Army, the hospital facility maintained 6 "detention wards" for the mentally ill patients. To move supplies and troops a rail station off the Southern Pacific Railroad's Fresno Line was installed at the hospital.
Hammond General Hospital was closed in December 1945. The facility for Hammond General Hospital became the Modesto State Hospital in November 1946.