DeWitt General Hospital
DeWitt General Hospital | |
---|---|
Location | Auburn, California |
Coordinates | 38°56′23″N 121°06′09″W / 38.939789°N 121.102368°W |
Area | 284 acres |
Built | Open February 17, 1944 (closed December 31, 1945) |
Architect | US Army - York and Sawyer |
DeWitt General Hospital was a
DeWitt General Hospital
For a short time when it opened, DeWitt General Hospital was called Auburn General Hospital, but was renamed DeWitt General Hospital. The hospital was named after Brigadier General Calvin DeWitt (1840-1908) with the Civil War Medical Corps. The
Camp Flint
Near DeWitt General Hospital, a
- Marker at the site reads: At the onset of World War II the U.S. Army's Western Defense Command and Fourth Army sought to secure the strategically important railroad through the Sierra Nevada Mountains. On December 9th 1941, soldiers of the 32nd Infantry Division arrived here in Auburn at "Camp Flint", a base of operations for providing static defense of the railroad's vulnerable infrastructure. In February 1942, the 754th Military Police Battalion arrived at Camp Flint and assumed the railroad security duties of the 32nd Infantry Division who departed in March of 1942. 200 German Prisoners of War were transferred to Camp Flint from Florence, Arizona to provide support at DeWitt General Hospital in June 1945. There were more than 500 POWs when the camp was at its peak. Additional security fencing and guard towers were added to the site to secure the POW camp. Although the hospital was closed in December of 1945 , German Prisoners remained at Camp Flint through February of 1946. Erected 2012 by Lord Sholto Douglas Chapter #3 E Clampus Vitus.[5]
DeWitt State Hospital
The first patients transferred to the DeWitt State Hospital in 1947 from other State Hospitals. DeWitt State Hospital began checking in patients from local counties in July 1950. DeWitt State Hospital served the counties of Placer, Modoc, Lassen, Sierra, Yuba, Sutter, and El Dorado. In 1960 DeWitt State Hospital had 2,800 patients at its peak. In 1972 DeWitt State Hospital closed, having serviced its 25-year agreement. On 1 April 1972 the hospital was transferred to the County of Placer.[6]
County of Placer government
The hospital was converted to the Placer county government service center. Today it houses the Placer County Jail, Placer County Juvenile Detention Facility, Adult System of Care services, Human services, Vital Statistics and Community Health. Part of the hospital is used for professional services, residential, commercial, farm's market and Skyline Church. About 30% of the 80 original buildings have been removed.
See also
- California during World War II
- American Theater (1939–1945)
- Desert Training Center
- United States home front during World War II
- Veterans Health Administration
References
- ^ militarymuseum.org, DeWitt History Museum: Grand Opening, February 27, 2017
- ^ militarymuseum.org, DeWitt General Hospital
- ^ militarymuseum.org, Camp Flint
- ^ Auburn's WWII POW camp then. A side road into history today, Camp Flint interned hundreds of prisoners of war, By Gus Thomson
- ^ Camp Flint Marker
- ^ Nation Parkers, DeWitt General Hospital