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Fort Gratiot
Hospital
 The
first hospital built in St. Clair County was built at Fort Gratiot on
the current Edison Inn property. Over the years, the building was
divided into two homes and moved from the original location. Years
later, after modern siding was removed, these buildings were
rediscovered.
Accepted as the oldest surviving wooden
building in the city, the two halves have been moved to the Fort Gratiot
Lighthouse property in preparation for their reattachment and
restoration. Once completed, the building will serve as the Fort Gratiot
Hospital Museum, in order to present the unique contributions of local
doctors to medical history.
The Port Huron Museum, in collaboration
with the St. Clair County Medical Society and the St. Clair County
Regional Educational Service Agency (RESA), are in the process of
filming a documentary about four outstanding local doctors. This movie
will spotlight Dr. Cyrus Stockwell, Dr. John Coury, Dr. Charles Townley,
and Dr. Nicholas Douvas.
Dr. Stockwell served as a physician for
the U.S. Army garrison at Fort Gratiot during the Civil War and later
founded the Michigan State Medical Society.
Dr. Coury was a local practicing physician
who served as President of the American Medical Association.
Dr. Townley was the orthopedist who
invented the artificial hip joint replacement and founded the BioPro
Corporation.
Dr. Douvas pioneered a procedure and a
surgical instrument, the Roto Extractor,
to
extract cataracts and perform vitrectomies.
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