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- The Biwabik Hospital and Biwabik Bray Family
Written by Robert Bray - July 6, 1976
The Biwabik Hospital was established in 1892 by Dr. William H. Magie and was sold to Dr. Ralph Sewall about 1896. Dr. Sewall was a classmate of Dr. C.W. Bray and Dr. Mary Bassett. The building had five to six available beds, two offices, and an operating room. Living quarters were on the south side of the building. There was no electricity or running water in the building. Water was piped to two locations in town. The faucets were located in little sheds - one at Talley's corner (Main and Third Street) and one on Erickson's corner (First Avenue and First Street North). Water was carried to the hospital in a 55-gallon barrel equipped with two large side wheels and a handle to push or pull it. Heat for the hospital was provided by coal stoves in various places and light was from kerosene lamps and candles.
Dr. Charles William Bray was born September 7, 1868 in Young America, Minnesota, into a family with a medical background already established. His father, Ebenezer Bray, was a practicing physician and dentist. His uncle, Dr. James Madison Bray, was a pioneer surgeon in Evansville, Indiana, and as a surgeon served in the Civil War. He loaned money to C.W. Bray to help him through medical school. Charles Washington Bray (1850-1922) was a cousin of C.W. He graduated from New York College of Physicians and Surgeons and practiced in Portland, Maine. A brother of C.W., Dr. Wleyn Royal Bray (1879-1967) was an Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat specialist, and practiced in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Dr. C.W. and Dr. Mary Elizabeth Bassett met while attending the Medical School of the University of Minnesota and both graduated in 1895. Dr. C.W. interned at Ancker Hospital in St. Paul, then practiced one year in Wabasha, one year in Anoka, and about one year in Minneapolis. In January of 1899 he bought the Biwabik Hospital from Dr. Ralph Sewall. The location of Biwabik was chosen because of the many iron mines in this area and it was thought that the Eastern Mesaba Range had a great future.
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Bassett Family Association Database
d. 7 Jul 1937 (Age 68 years)