How Many Hospitals Did Sanford Have? 

Goodall Hospital and Nurses’ Home in 1938  

Photo: Goodall Hospital Decennial Report, 1928-1938 
 

By Lawrence Furbish, Sanford-Springvale Historical Society  

Starting in January 1913, the Sanford Board of Trade established the Sanford Hospital Association to build a town hospital. Money was raised, but not enough to fund construction. In 1914, soon after completion of the construction of Springvale National Bank (now an ice cream shop at the corner of Main and Oak streets), Dr. Byron B. Moulton opened a private hospital on the second floor of the building. It existed for several years. 

Soon after his arrival in town in 1917, Dr. H. Danforth Ross opened a second private hospital in a remodeled building at the corner of Mousam and School streets, the current site of the Sanford Post Office. Dr. Ross and Dr. Stephen Cobb operated it until Goodall Hospital opened in 1928. 

Henrietta D. Goodall, wife of George B. Goodall and a descendant of one of Sanford’s earliest settlers, had long thought about the need for a hospital for the town’s residents. However, she passed away in 1923 before her dream could be realized. Her husband and their daughter, Marion Marland, began planning to build a hospital in Henrietta’s memory. George furnished the money for construction of the hospital. Work began in 1926, but George died suddenly on Dec. 13, 1927, soon after the foundation had been laid. Marion and her husband, William Marland, continued the work and remained supporters of the hospital for the remainder of their lives. 

Goodall Hospital Decennial Report 1928-1938 

The original building was laid out in a north/south orientation to obtain the best light. It is reported that Marland and the hospital’s architect from Boston visited the site at midnight to get a true reading from the North Star. The architect was well known for building elaborate houses for the very wealthy, and he brought his skills to the design of the hospital. The bricks were made and fired in England and are beautiful and decorative. Great care was taken with details, including linoleum imported from England, custom-made furniture and colors for walls and fabric chosen carefully to best match the light exposures. 

Goodall Hospital opened its doors on Saturday, Aug.11, 1928, for “public inspection,” and opened for patients the next day. The first patient admitted was Nellie Merrill. The first baby born at the hospital was Eugene Sturgeon, on Aug. 28. The hospital originally had 55 beds. A new wing in 1949 added another 15 beds, and then in 1967 the Marland Wing increased the capacity to over 100 beds.  

It is interesting to look at health care statistics back in the day: 

• In 1928, a chest X-ray cost $5, a ward bed $3, a minor operation $5 and a major operation $10. 
• In 1978, those charges were $25, (there were no ward beds) and $150 for both minor and major operations. 
• In 1928, the hospital served 518 patients, 45 newborns, and 343 surgical cases. 
• In 1978, those numbers were 2,903, 416, and 1,237. 
• In 1936-37, the cost to the hospital for every patient admitted was $5.81 per day.  

Over the years, Goodall Hospital has played a significant role in our community. We can all be grateful to the Goodall family for its existence.