Ragland Clinic-Hospital

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Ragland Clinic-Hospital in Upshur County. Now settle in, because this one's about a family that didn't just practice medicine. They built something that outlasted all three of them.

Thomas Scott Ragland, M.D., born in 1872, came to Texas in 1895, and by 1902 he had put down roots in Gilmer, alongside his wife, Mamie Helen, born a Denson. He wasn't just a doctor. He was the community physician, a local surgeon for the railroads, a businessman, and president of First National Bank.

The man had his hands in just about everything Gilmer had going on. But medicine was the through-line. His two sons, Madison Scott, born in 1905, and Hugh Mayo Ragland, born in 1907, finished their medical training and came right back to work beside their father.

Three Raglands, one practice, one shared purpose. In 1933, they purchased property on Cass Street and built themselves a proper hospital and clinic, the first full-time hospital Upshur County had ever seen. That's not a small thing.

That's a county that had been waiting a long time. Now, what they built in 1933 wasn't what it would become. The Ragland Clinic-Hospital had a habit of growing.

The first expansion came in 1935, adding nine more hospital rooms and beds. Then 1946 brought a new north wing with upstairs rooms, a dietary kitchen, and a pharmacy. By 1953, they were adding more bedrooms and treatment facilities.

And in 1957, the final expansion increased in-room patient capacity and added a doctors' office wing. Four expansions across more than two decades. They weren't building for themselves.

They were building for the county. Along the way, additional staff joined. Dr.

J. Looney Fenlaw, born in 1912, and Dr. Tedroe J.

Ford, born in 1928, came aboard, and the institution changed its name to reflect them. First it became Ragland-Fenlaw Clinic-Hospital, then Ragland-Fenlaw-Ford Clinic and Gilmer Hospital. The name got longer every time Gilmer got a little better served.

And here's something worth pausin' on. During World War II, when nurse retention became a critical shortage, this institution didn't just complain about the problem. It created a licensed vocational nursing program, a successful one, and trained nurses right there on the ground.

That's a legacy that walked out those doors and kept on going. Thomas Scott Ragland, who started it all, died in 1936. Hugh Mayo Ragland died in 1966.

Madison Scott Ragland lived until 1986. The institution that carried their name kept going until 1981, when a new regional medical center opened and took up the work. From 1933 to 1981, the Ragland Clinic-Hospital was the only general medical facility in all of Upshur County.

That's a long time to be the only answer when somebody in that county needed help. And for nearly half a century, they showed up every single time.

What the marker says

In 1933, the Ragland family opened the first full-time hospital in Upshur County. Thomas Scott Ragland, M.D. (1872 - 1936) came to Texas in 1895; he settled in Gilmer in 1902 with his wife, Mamie Helen (Denson). In addition to serving as the community physician, r\Ragland was a local surgeon for railroads, a businessman, and president of First National Bank. He worked together with his two sons, Madison Scott (1905 - 1986) and Hugh Mayo Ragland (1907 - 1966), who joined his practice after they finished their medical training. In 1933, the doctors purchased property on Cass Street and built a hospital and clinic to serve Gilmer and the surrounding areas. The Ragland Clinic-Hospital expanded several times. The first expansion (1935) included nine additional hospital rooms and beds. In the second (1946), the raglands added a new north wing with upstairs rooms, a dietary kitchen and a pharmacy. A 1953 expansion added more bedrooms and treatment facilities, and the final one (1957) increased in-room patient capacity and added a doctors" office wing. Additional staff joined through the years, including Drs. J. Looney Fenlaw (1912 - 1992) and Tedroe J. Ford (1928 - 1980). The institution changed names to Ragland-Fenlaw Clinic-Hospital and then to Ragland-Fenlaw-Ford clinic and Gilmer Hospital to reflect the additional physicians. Besides directly serving patients, the institution created a successful licensed vocation nursing program to address the critical shortage of nurse retention during World War II. The institution continued to serve as the only general medical facility in Upshur County until it closed in 1981, when a new regional medical center opened.