The Old Riverside Hospital

Michigan · United States · Church

A nineteenth century family house in Trenton, Michigan that Henry Ford turned into a hospital in 1944, with stables behind it and a horse buried besid

The building in Trenton, Michigan began as a private house, raised by a family named Church in the 1800s. When the last of them died, no relative wanted it. Henry Ford bought the property and converted it into a hospital in 1944.

The story that has survived belongs to the family rather than the hospital. There were three children, two boys and a girl of nine. The girl kept horses, five of them, in stables that still stood behind the house, and rode her favourite every day. After a fall left her with a broken arm, her father decided the animal was to blame. He waited until she was at school, killed the horse, and buried it with a friend's help at the side of the house. Local accounts point to a low mound there as the grave.

What visitors describe centres on that side of the building and on the ground behind it, where the stables were. The hospital closed long ago and the site has been treated as a local landmark ever since.

FAQ

Where is The Old Riverside Hospital located?

The Old Riverside Hospital is in Michigan, United States.