Modesto Junior College West Campus/Hospitals (site) (Modesto, California)

 Second World War 1939-1945, military, community college

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mjc.yosemite.cc.ca.us/

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"On 2 March 1942, the initial acreage required for the establishment of Hammond General Hospital was acquired by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) by fee purchase from the County of Stanislaus with an additional 40 acres acquired on 16 June 1942 by condemnation proceedings against the Modesto Irrigation District. Almost immediately after acquiring the first parcel of land, the USACE began building the 2,540 bed general hospital using standard Quartermaster Corps (who had the U.S. Army’s general construction mission prior to 4 December 1941) and USACE 700-, 800-, and 1100-series plans for wood framed wards, clinics, barracks, and support buildings. On the eastern portion of the hospital, a cantonment area using mostly TOS-series buildings was constructed for hospital patient and garrison overflow as well as for Army Ground Forces units training at the hospital. Hammond General Hospital specialized in neurology, general and orthopedic surgery, neurosurgery and psychiatry. On 6 March 1943, the hospital was designated as one of five thoracic surgery centers, and the only one on the West Coast. The center remained at Hammond General Hospital until August 1944 when it was transferred to Baxter General Hospital in Spokane, Washington. Hammond General Hospital also maintained six “detention wards” for the mentally ill and a prison ward, all of which were surrounded by security fencing."

Read more here: www.militarymuseum.org/HammondGenHosp.html

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Hammond General Hospital was named for Brigadier General William Alexander Hammond, who was the Civil War era Surgeon General of the U.S. Army, and later founded the American Neurological Association.

From the late 1940s through late 1960s, this hospital site was part of the California State Hospital System and officially known as Modesto State Hospital, and cared for physically, mentally, and emotionally indigent patients.

Following numerous budget cuts during the Ronald Reagan governance, most of the state hospital system was dismantled, and most patients were then dispersed to privately owned hospitals.

Hospital buildings were then neglected, and by the time the Yosemite Community College District (YCCD) took ownership of the property in 1970 and later built the Modesto Junior College West Campus, most had been condemned and were eventually razed.

YCCD, which includes both Modesto Junior College and Columbia College in Sonora, California, has its offices here, along with Child Care and Development centers, technical education, culinary arts, and various medical sciences, among others.