Overview

The French Benevolent Society founded the State of California's oldest existing medical institution, the French Hospital #1, in 12/1851. It operated at this first location for two years, before moving to a site on the corner of Bush and Taylor Streets.

Building History

The allure of gold mining attracted thousands of immigrants from around the world to San Francisco during the late 1840s. The prospect of riches drew 20,000 French settlers between 1849 and 1851 alone, most of whom did not have experience as gold miners. Few had luck finding gold veins, nor did many speak English. By late 1851, the French émigré population had grown substantial enough to band together to form “La Societe Francaise de Bienfaisance Mutuelle” or French Mutual Benevolent Society on 12/28/1851. Led by the journalist Etienne Derbec, (1817-1897), this mutual-aid society provided assistance to exhausted and destitute miners who had no other means of support. Support also consisted of healthcare, with a 20-bed hospital being established in a wood-frame building on the northeast corner of Jackson Street and Mason Street in Nob Hill. The writer Marie-Louise Girerd (b. 06/29/1907 in Beost, France), who became an American citizen in 1939, described the foundations of the French Benevolent Hospital: "This distressful situation moved some of the more fortunate French residents of San Francisco under the leadership of Etienne Derbec, a journalist, to consider means of providing assistance to their compatriots. A meeting was held on December 21, 1851 for this purpose. Funds were raised and plans made to organize a Relief Society whose objectives would be as stated in their by-laws: 'To provide for the needs of the sick, furnish assistance to Frenchmen as well as to citizens of other nationalities without resources, and to take care of their funeral expenses.' A small wooden house was rented on the northeast cornier of Jackson and Mason Streets to provide temporary quarters for the Society’s relief work. The sick were to be treated by Dr. d’Rivera who had volunteered his professional services without any compensation. His offer had been followed by similar ones from five other physicians.” (See Marie-Louise Girerd, "History of the French Hospital," written 11/22/1976, text reprinted on the web site of the French-American Foundation for Medical Research and Education.org, “History,” accessed 04/14/2020.) The northeast corner of Jackson and Mason Streets had a rough present address of 990 Jackson.

In 1853, the French Hospital had outgrown its small facility and planning began to erect a larger facility. The noted French-American architect Prosper Louis-Etienne Huerne (1820-1892) drew up the designs for this second facility, at the intersection of Bush and Taylor Streets, that opened in 12/1853, at a cost of $7,195. (See Marie-Louise Girerd, "History of the French Hospital," written 11/22/1976, text reprinted on the web site of the French-American Foundation for Medical Research and Education.org, “History,” accessed 04/14/2020.)

Building Notes

A note appeared in the Sacramento Daily Union, 04/23/1855 that stated: "In the hospital of the French Benevolent Society, says the San Francisco Sun, the average number of patients for the last eighteen months has been thirty. The institution has been admirably managed." (See "French Hospital," Sacramento Daily Union, vol. 9, no. 1273, 04/23/1855, p. 3.)

PCAD id: 22650