Bellville General Hospital

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Bellville General Hospital. Now settle in, because this one starts way before anybody ever thought about a hospital. It starts with a town.

Bellville was founded as the county seat of Austin County in January 1848, on land provided by a man named Thomas Bell. The railroad rolled in during 1879 and 1880, and the population started climbing in the years that followed. Towns have a way of growing up around their railroads.

And growing towns, sooner or later, need doctors. Enter Dr. Jubal Allen Neely, a graduate of the Galveston Medical School, who moved to Bellville in 1915 and opened a private medical practice.

Then came World War I, and Dr. Neely served in the U.S. Army Medical Corps.

He came back to Bellville, but he came back with an injury. And here is where the story takes a turn worth savoring. In 1926, that injury required bed rest.

Now, a doctor flat on his back has patients who still need tending, and somebody had to do it. That somebody was Dr. Herbert Edward Roensch, a Bellville native who had been practicing medicine over in nearby Kenney.

Roensch moved to Bellville to help look after Neely's patients. The two men formed a partnership, and in 1928, together, they opened Bellville's first hospital. Four beds.

That is where it all began. Four beds. Now, 1928 had more than one surprise in store for Bellville.

That same year, an oil field was discovered in the area, population started growing again, and suddenly four beds were not going to be enough. Plans for a larger hospital got underway, and in 1930 the hospital moved to the Neely Building, still right there on the town square. The hospital expanded again in 1938.

Plans for an even larger facility began in 1949. The once private hospital became a corporation and received its charter in 1952. The following year, a 24-bed hospital opened on land donated by Neely and Roensch themselves.

Twenty years after that, a 32-bed facility opened, and the former hospital was replaced by a physicians' clinic. From four beds in 1928 to a full hospital district operating under voter approval, Bellville General Hospital has kept on serving the community, backed by its medical and administrative staff, its board of directors, its auxiliary, its foundation, and its friends. More than 75 years of care, all of it tracing back to two doctors, a partnership, and four beds on a town square in Texas.

What the marker says

Bellville General Hospital Bellville was founded as county seat of Austin County in January 1848, on land provided by Thomas Bell, for whom the town was named. The railroad reached Bellville in 1879-80, and the population increased substantially in the ensuing years. In 1915, Dr. Jubal Allen Neely, graduate of the Galveston Medical School, moved to Bellville and opened a private medical practice. He served in the U.S. Army Medical Corp during World War I and returned to Bellville with an injury. When the injury required bed rest in 1926, Dr. Herbert Edward Roensch, a Bellville native practicing medicine in nearby Kenney, moved to Bellville to help tend to Neely's patients. They formed a partnership, and in 1928, the two doctors opened Bellville's first hospital with four beds. That same year, the discovery of an oil field in the area led to an increase in population, and soon plans were underway for a larger hospital. In 1930, the hospital moved to the Neely Building, still on the town square. Serving an ever-growing population, the hospital again expanded in 1938, and plans for an even larger facility began in 1949. The once private hospital became a corporation, receiving its charter in 1952. A 24-bed hospital opened the following year on land donated by Neely and Roensch. Twenty years later, a 32-bed facility opened, and the former hospital was replaced by a physicians' clinic. Operating under a voter-approved hospital district, Bellville General Hospital continues to serve the community more than 75 years after it opened with the leadership and support of its professional medical and administrative staff, as well as from the board of directors, auxiliary, foundation and friends. (2003)