Learn about the evolution of medical care in Martinsville and Henry County with the MHC Historical Society’s 2026 Founders Day program, at 3 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 18, at the MHC Heritage Museum, 1 E. Main St., Martinsville (former Henry County courthouse).
Medical care began with country doctors such as Dr. Robert Fagg of Axton (1855-1946), who drove his horse and buggy to his patients’ homes – and was among the first of local people to buy and drive an automobile once those became available. There were hospitals in the booming town of Martinsville, such as Lucy Lester Hospital, St. Mary’s Hospital (named for the mother of Dr. Dana O. Baldwin) and the short-lived Watt Hairston Hospital, which lasted for only 6 months before it was destroyed by fire. Small, one-doctor-run hospitals also dotted the countryside, such as that of Dr. Justus Elijah Richardson in Mountain Valley and Dr. Jesse Shackelford in Irisburg.
In the 1920s, the local Red Cross chapter played a key role in the health and welfare of local children, with clinics in the schools and occasional visiting specialist. Those programs were run by Nurse Freda Drewry, who served this area for decades.
Medicine modernized and consolidated in the mid-1900s with large hospitals such as Shackelford Hospital (Dr. John Shackelford), General Hospital, Community Hospital (Dr. Dana Baldwin) and then the drive to Memorial Hospital, which is now operating as SoVah Health.
