County of park: Polk County
GPS location on the corner of Humnan St. & Bolivar Rd, next to the firemans memorial
This is the ONLY town/city in the world named Humansville
"George Dimmitt Hospital was a small but fully-equipped hospital erected in a town with a population that seldom topped one thousand, thanks to benefactor Charles E. Dimmitt who established it as a memorial to his deceased son George Watson Dimmitt, who was born in Humansville.
"The pastor of an early Humansville church, Shady Grove Methodist (which became Humansville United Methodist) was Jonas Hare Dimmitt. Pastor Dimmitt was the father of Charles E. Dimmitt, the benefactor who established Dimmitt Memorial Hospital as a memorial to his son George.
"Although he was born in Illinois, Charles E. Dimmitt grew up in Humansville before heading northwest to seek his fortune. He married Luella Montgomery in 1884, and two years later (on November 21, 1886) their son, George Watson Dimmitt, was born in Humansville. In 1896, having managed the local lumber company for several years, Charles Dimmitt moved his family to Great Falls, Montana where he became involved in the general mercantile business. Later Dimmitt became associated with the Golden Rule syndicate, which operated mercantile stores in several western states. James Cash Penney began working for Golden Rule, and in 1907 bought out the other partners. In 1913, Golden Rule incorporated as the J. C. Penney Company, and as such rapidly ex panded. Charles Dimmitt held executive positions with J. C. Penney, Inc., at their corporate headquarters in New York, and became wealthy.
"In 1922, Dimmitt retired from J. C. Penney and relocated his family to Hollywood, California. On August 20, 1928, their son George Dimmitt died.
"Subsequently the Dimmitts returned to Humansville and donated funds for constructing and equipping the nominated hospital, as a memorial to their son with the stipulation that the hospital be “operated without profit, thus serving a great community need and extending charity to humanity.”
"While he was at it (presumably influenced by his minister father if not by the example for philanthropyset by J. C. Penney), Charles Dimmitt also purchased and donated the site for a city park and made a substantial contribution toward a $75,000 community building in Humansville. All three projects were well under way when the stock market collapsed on Black Tuesday (October 29, 1929) and in any case
were completed or virtually completed in November of that year. The Humansville Community Building apparently was completed slightly before the hospital and Dimmitt Memorial Park, which featured a
pavilion with sixteen Ionic columns made of concrete. Heckenlively and Mark designed the community building and pavilion as well as the hospital. According to the Star-Leader, “During the many years of their absence Mr. and Mrs. Dimmitt retained a warm feeling in their hearts for the Old Home Town as has been manifested in recent years by their frequent visits here, and by their splendid donations to our churches and other institutions of the town. Itwas while visiting here in the fall of 1928 that they purchased the beautiful brick residence property of Mrs. Harriet Beason for the purpose of converting it into a modern hospital.”
"In addition to the Beason property, the frontage north to Buffalo Street with the exception of a residence, plus a two-acre tract on
the east and additional acreage to the west and north extending to Main Street was acquired for development. Dimmitt purchased and donated all of Block 15 of the Original Town of Humansville, specifically for development as a park. The newspaper noted that a few of the town’s older residences were torn down or removed to clear space." ~ National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
Links to activities: Chamber of Commerce The Kingdom of Tal Dagore Fall Festivals Facebook Page