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Restoring the ruins: Could St. Agnes become a hospital once again?

With the help of a federal grant, St. Augustine's University wants to restore what's left of a piece of hidden history.

Posted Updated

By
Ken Smith
, WRAL anchor/reporter & Heather Leah, WRAL multiplatform producer
RALEIGH, N.C. — Standing between Historic Oakwood Cemetery and St. Augustine's University in downtown Raleigh is a large, stone hospital with hollowed-out walls and empty windows. Trees can be seen growing inside the structure, and ivy curtains drape down the walls and carpet the dirt floor.

The crumbling walls of St. Agnes Hospital are more than a century old. The antique hospital may appear in ruins, but St. Agnes is full of the memories of Raleigh's Black community and history. Established in 1896, within a single generation of people being freed from slavery on local plantations, the hospital served as the best quality medical care available for African-Americans between Washington D.C. and Atlanta.

Students of St. Augustine's University built the hospital themselves –– even quarrying the stone from the earth themselves.

Over the decades, several attempts have been made to preserve the building and its history. However, despite its critical importance to Raleigh's history, there has never been enough money, community interest or feasibility to restore the historic hospital – until now.

The remnants of St. Agnes have long stood, overgrown and hollowed out, a reminder of segregation in healthcare in Raleigh. Soon, the 'ruins' could be restored into a memorial.

Restoring a vital piece of Raleigh's Black history

With the help of a $500,000 federal grant, St. Augustine's University is once again re-imagining the stone walls of St. Agnes. The grant will fund a feasibility study to explore the possibilities.

"More than anything, the future holds opportunities," says Veronica Creech, St. Augustine's vice president of economic development and external engagement.

Creech says the site, but not the building, is on the historic registry – and they want to ensure the future honors what happened in St. Agnes Hospital.

The feasibility study will allow them to understand what kind of potential options they have.

"This initial investment will pay for that feasibility study to include design, structural engineering, conceptual drawings, architectural renderings, architectural review and historic review," she says. "From that, we can learn what we can do with this site."

The remnants of St. Agnes have long stood, overgrown and hollowed out, a reminder of segregation in healthcare in Raleigh. Soon, the 'ruins' could be restored into a memorial.

Creech says preserving the remains is a major goal – and this isn't the first time they've tried to preserve the building. After the last feasibility study, the university inserted steel beams and stability structures to help stabilize the stone walls.

"A few studies have been done over the decades, and with a deteriorating structure, if the study is 3-5 years old, you have to start again," she says.

Now that some time has passed, they need to evaluate everything from the foundation to the walls. They also want to understand what kind of covering they could use – what kind of roof or ceiling would work on the historic and deteriorating structure.

"We want to make sure we do it right," she says.

The remnants of St. Agnes have long stood, overgrown and hollowed out, a reminder of segregation in healthcare in Raleigh. Soon, the 'ruins' could be restored into a memorial.

St. Agnes could serve a 'health desert' in southeast Raleigh

St. Augustine's does have a vision for St. Agnes. They hope to honor the history of the medicine that was provided at the hospital.

"If all went well, and the feasibility allowed us to imagine big, we would definitely like to see a community clinic, or a partnership with a health organization," says Creech.

Creech says southeast Raleigh is in a 'health desert,' without easy access to nearby medical care.

Just as St. Agnes was once the foundation for a nursing program and training ground for medical interns and physicians, Creech says she'd like history to repeat itself.

The remnants of St. Agnes have long stood, overgrown and hollowed out, a reminder of segregation in healthcare in Raleigh. Soon, the 'ruins' could be restored into a memorial.

For some members of the Black community in Raleigh, St. Agnes is more than just history – it was part of their lives. Some have fond memories of St. Agnes – and say they'd love to see St. Agnes return as a hospital.

Dr. Allen Mask says St. Agnes has always been special to his family. His father, who played defensive end for the St. Augustine's Falcons, broke his leg in 1936 and spent 30 days at St. Agnes Hospital.

"He just talked for years about the passion of the nurses, about the orderlies and the doctors," says Dr. Mask.

Dr. Mask says if you were born before 1961 and you were African American, you were either born at St. Agnes or at home. Likewise, during the pandemic of 1918, St. Agnes is where the Black community found help. Many people born at St. Agnes still visit the structure today just to share their memories.

"I mean this is the legacy," he says. "This isn’t just a building or a structure that we ride by and admire the stone work, but this is a place where people have such great memories."

The remnants of St. Agnes have long stood, overgrown and hollowed out, a reminder of segregation in healthcare in Raleigh. Soon, the 'ruins' could be restored into a memorial.

Dr. Mask says he'd love to see St. Agnes become a museum to showcase the history of healthcare for the Black community. However, he'd also love to see St. Agnes resume its role as a training ground for health care workers.

"I would like to see it become a training ground again," he says. "How amazing would it be to train a new generation of health care workers in this historic facility."

Dr. Mask also says it could be helpful to get more African Americans in the health field. Right now, Dr. Mask says African Americans make up less than 5% of doctors.

"Wake County is growing," he says. "We have the resources."

The university hopes to complete the feasibility study and break ground within the next 12 to 18 months.

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