According to the 2009 Campus Master Plan for the Missouri University of
Science and Technology, the former
Missouri Trachoma Hospital (currently Rock Mechanics) is to be razed and
replaced with a parking lot for the campus recreational facilities. Missouri
S&T is committed to creating a sustainable campus to minimize the
university's impact. The retention and
continued use of property could be another feather in the cap towards Missouri
S&T's sustainability efforts.
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| The Former Missouri Trachoma Hospital |
Trachoma, a disease afflicting the eyes, was the leading cause of
blindness in the United States during the turn of the twentieth century. The disease was particularly prevalent in a
belt stretching from eastern Kentucky to eastern Oklahoma. Known as “The Trachoma Belt,” 75% of all
cases of the infection in the 1920’s occurred within this area. To combat trachoma, President Woodrow Wilson
allocated federal funds to the United States Public Health Service. The Health Service used the funds to
construct the first trachoma hospital, in Richmond, Kentucky, in September of
1913. Ten years later, a trachoma clinic
opened within an existing hospital in Rolla, MO. The Federal Health Department decided to
withdraw their management of the clinic in Rolla on March 12, 1936. General operations of the clinic were
transferred to the Missouri State Health Department.
The Missouri State Health Department deemed the facilities of the
trachoma clinic in Rolla insufficient.
During the 1930’s, Missouri was paying over $280,000 a year in blind
pensions to victims of trachoma.
Determined to build a facility exclusively for the treatment of
trachoma, the Missouri State Legislature allotted $75,000 of state funds for
the construction of a new hospital. The
federal government supplemented the state funds with $61,363 of federal funds
through the Public Works Administration.
The Rolla Chamber of Commerce selected a site at the northwest corner of
the intersection of highways 66 and 63.
The site, situated on a high knoll, was purchased from the Missouri
School of Mines for $2,000. A
construction contract was awarded to J.E. Williams of University City, MO for
$104,573. A ceremonial ground breaking
took place on January 3, 1939. Due to
the funding of a state hospital by the state of Missouri in an attempt to
diminish the cost incurred to victims of trachoma, the former hospital has
state wide significance.
On July 29, 1939, a cornerstone ceremony was held at the nearly
completed hospital building. The
ceremony was presided over by Malvern B. Clopton, President of the Missouri
State Board of Health. In attendance
were Governor Lloyd Stark and the director of the Kentucky Trachoma Hospital,
Dr. Arthur McCormick. The cornerstone
was laid by Karl Vetsburg, the Grand Master of the Missouri Masonic Lodge. During his address, Stark stated “this
building is a symbol of the humanitarianism which is traditional of the people
of Missouri.” At the time, the Missouri
Trachoma Hospital was the second such hospital in the nation. Two more trachoma hospitals were constructed
in Oklahoma and Arkansas. Only four
trachoma hospitals were ever in operation in the United States, thus giving the
Missouri Trachoma Hospital national significance.
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| Laying of the cornerstone in 1939 |
The site also has great local significance. Immediately south of the hospital near
highway 66 is a capped well surrounded by a small wrought iron fence. The well was once part of the first homestead
located in what would become the city of Rolla.
Philadelphia native, John Webber left his home in Gallatin County,
Illinois with his wife and two young children and headed west. Webber, for unknown reasons, chose to settle
on the high knoll in 1844 where the hospital now stands. He immediately constructed a home and
purchased the forty acres where his residence stood.
Thirteen years later, in 1857, Phelps County was created. Fifty largely undeveloped acres were donated
by railroad contractor, Edmund Ward Bishop to become the seat of Phelps
County. Bishop’s donation became the
city of Rolla. In the same year, the
city’s boundaries were determined by Webber, Bishop and George Coppedge,
another early settler, at Webber’s home.
Even the name of the new city, supposedly a phonetic spelling of the
North Carolina capitol Raleigh, was agreed upon at the Webber residence. Webber and his family remained at the home
until 1876 when they moved to Edgar Springs in southern Phelps County. Webber died in 1889 and is buried in the
Rolla Cemetery.
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| John Webber |
At the turn of the twenty-first century, the MS&T became the first
university in the nation to voluntarily commit to an Environmental Management
System (EMS). An EMS provides a
structured approach to the planning and implementation of environmental
protection procedures using the guidelines set forth under the International
Organization for Standardization (ISO).
These guidelines encourage creative and relevant solutions from within
the organization itself to reduce its impact on the environment and our natural
resources. To further their commitment,
MS&T implemented a sustainability policy to minimize the university’s
pollutants and advocate environmental stewardship. Stated within the purpose of
their policy is the continual improvement of environmental stewardship with
respect to materials, water and energy use.
The university further advocates sustainability through the Student
Design and Experimental Learning Center (SDELC). The center allows experimental learning
through projects supporting multi-disciplinary student research. These projects include initiatives in solar
technology to limit our dependence on finite resources. The projects include the solar decathlon and
solar housing which have given the university international recognition
concerning solar technology.
In contrast, the demolition of the Trachoma would counteract Missouri
S&T's goals of sustainability. The
amount of waste created by the Trachoma would be astounding. According to Richard Moe, former president of
the National Trust for Historic Preservation, "Demolishing a 50,000 square
foot building creates 4,000 tons of waste, enough to fill 26 box cars - a train
one-quarter mile long." Additionally, "Constructing a new 50,000
square foot building releases as much carbon as driving a car 2.8 million
miles."
Recently, an eligibility assessment of the Trachoma for the National
Register of Historic Place was conducted by the Missouri State Historic
Preservation Office (SHPO) in Jefferson City.
SHPO deemed the former hospital eligible for listing on the National
Register for its local and state wide significance due to its association with
events that had a large impact on our culture.
If you would like to voice your opinion against the proposed demolition
of the former Trachoma, contact the following individuals. Let's work together and keep this historic
building, which is a viable and necessary element of Rolla's built
environment.
Bill Jenks - Mayor of Rolla
Cheryl B. Schrader - Missouri S&T Chancellor
5th Ward City Council Members (where Trachoma is located)
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