Listen Live
HomeNewsTimmins history: Cottage hospitals

Timmins history: Cottage hospitals

For this week’s look at Timmins history, we continue talking about early hospitals. When you didn’t qualify for treatment in a hospital owned by a mine, you could turn to a cottage hospital.

Timmins Museum director-curator Karen Bachmann tells us they were run by women, usually nurses.

“They provided maternity services primarily,” she notes. “You could also, you know, if somebody had to go to a hospital, sometimes these were the only places that they could go.”

There was a well known cottage hospital on Connaught Hill in South Porcupine, and some on Cedar Street in Timmins. They were usually operated by nurses.

- Advertisement -

“They would advertise in the newspaper as well,” says Bachmann.  “So you got these great little ads about the cottage hospital run by Miss So-and-So who had just graduated and was up and coming and knew her businesses.”

This series of features began with dispelling the myth that the building across McIntyre Road from the arena was the mine manager’s house.  Next Monday, we talk where he did live, and throw in a little piece of juicy gossip.

A newspaper ad from 1919 (Timmins Museum: National Exhibition Centre)
- Advertisment -
- Advertisment -
- Advertisement -

Continue Reading