Smith Hospital and Douglas County Press
The Smith Hospital and Douglas County Press Building is a one story, three-part brick commercial complex located one-half block north of the Downtown Waterville Historic District (National Register, 1987). The building is located at the southeast intersection of Chelan and Ash streets and is bounded on the south by a surface parking lot. The structure is composed of three discrete but interconnected elements: the newspaper office building (the southernmost part, along Chelan Street), the adjacent doctor's office (on the corner), both constructed in 1913, and the hospital annex built east of the original along Ash Street in 1916. All three elements are constructed of local red brick and are mostly well preserved.
From its construction in 1913, the complex served for many years as the region's leading private hospital, and only fully equipped medical center for a radius of about fifty miles. In addition, the complex was home to one of the county's two leading newspapers, providing information, entertainment, and a sense of cohesion to the widely scattered residents of the farming area. Although converted to apartments after World War II, the complex continues to retain sufficient integrity to convey these historic associations.
Constructed in 1913, during a building boom along Chelan Street just north of the downtown business district, the Smith Hospital and Douglas County Press were built simultaneously by contractor John Calhoun using brick from the Waterville brickyard of Frank Malfa. Plans for construction at the site began that summer when Dr. J.F. Leslie, a prominent Waterville physician, purchased the corner lot.
The history of the newspapers in Waterville predates the city's incorporation (1902) by 14 years. In 1888, L.E. Kellogg began printing the community's first paper, the Big Bend Empire. Kellogg's venture was successful, and the Empire managed to absorb most of its short-lived competitors in the late 19th century. In 1902, a rival paper, The Douglas County Press • was established by Mssrs. Trimble and Jacobson, who sought to establish a Democrat mouthpiece in the county. The next year, Ben Spears bought the paper, and remained editor and publisher for the next 18 years.
In 1913, Spears purchased the lot on Chelan Street adjacent to the hospital building, and constructed offices and a print shop. In 1921, Spears sold the paper to Mr. and Mrs. Joe Stoddard, publishers of the rival Big Bend Empire. who consolidated the papers into the Empire-Press. The Stoddards published the Empire-Press until 1936, when the paper was sold to George Hamilton. Hamilton later sold the paper to Mr. and Mrs. Glen Stinson (19*6)1 who, in turn, sold to Howard Ordway (1952). The building was converted to apartments shortly thereafter.
From the NRH Registration Form