Historic hospital given life support

In 1907, Dr. C.R. Harken began practicing medicine in Osceola.

In 1911, he established Clarke County’s first hospital in a large house on the southwest side of the Osceola square at 216 Fillmore St. - Harken Hospital. The hospital had three floors with a basement, and included a surgery room, apothecary, morgue, solarium and an elevator. A nurse’s dormitory was located in the house south of the hospital, and later competing Dr. Stroy’s medical center opened across the alley to the north.

Harken Hospital operated until 1953 when, with Harken’s help, the Clarke County Public Hospital opened its doors.

Since its closure as a hospital, the building has been home to different groups and owners, but in time the elements, animals and vandals have left the former hospital boarded up and considered an eyesore to many.

To one group of people, however, they have a vision to bring the building back to life, and are in a race against time to save a piece of Osceola’s storied past.

Threat to the building

In October 2022, Historic Preservation Committee member Paula McClaflin attended an Osceola City Council to talk about the Harken Hospital, the Harken family and the committee’s desire to restore the hospital. Unbeknownst to McClaflin, on the agenda was the proposed demolition of the hospital.

“I have a vision for that hospital…all I’m asking, please don’t tear us down, and please work with us…I think when you go in, you’ll find it salvageable…it is a fortress,” said McClaflin at that meeting.

After discussion amongst council members, councilman-at-large Dr. George Fotiadis made a motion to postpone a decision on the demolition to allow six months for staff to find if the building can be registered as a historic building, have a building expert assess the structure to see if it can be salvaged and to find a viable funding stream to do so.

McClaflin returned to the city council on May 4 with Historic Preservation Committee member Deb Yorba, and Rob Taylor to speak about their continued desire to save the building; the proposed demolition of which was back on the agenda. Because the Historic Preservation Committee works under the umbrella of the city, they do not have their own funds to purchase the building, and asked for a little more time to track down possible donors or endowments.

Fotiadis made a motion to extend the discussion of demolition for 90-days to find funding, come up with a restoration plan and possible uses for the building. The motion was passed 4-0; councilman Doug Gay was absent.

“I thought we’d have two or three weeks and they gave us 90 days, so that was very generous…[there’s a] sense of urgency, we’re feeling it right now,” said Taylor.

Against the clock

Now McClaflin, Yorba and Taylor with Historic Preservation Committee members Molly Crawford and Ashleigh Eckels are working diligently to make sure the building remains standing. With the state of Iowa working to promote tourism, the quintet wants to be a part of that movement.

“To do that, we’ve got to have places like this the public wants to come see,” said Yorba.

Taylor pointed out how the old Garner Hotel was on the chopping block not too long ago, and all it took was someone with a vision and a will to breathe life into, working to transform it into Hotel Osceola. Some buildings, such as the ones at 101 and 103 West Washington, cannot be saved. Harken Hospital can be, however, and that is why the group has chosen to focus on it as their first major project.

Last fall, an architect came to the hospital and was able to identify original architecture to the 1910′s and from the remodel in the 1920′s. Structurally speaking, the building is not eligible to be on the National Register of Historic Places, but once repairs are made the process of getting it added can again be undertaken. Once it is on the list, grant opportunities will open up for further restoration.

“We’re on the brink of something great here,” said Crawford.

The group is planning to attack the repairs in phases. The first phase is to button up the outside including fixing the original slate roof and clean up the outside to make it more neighborhood friendly, and that is where a call to the community comes in.

“Anybody that wants to get involved with helping, being a volunteer, raising money, connecting us to people with resources for some historical preservation, reach out to somebody,” said Taylor.

Share the stories

While help on the ground is certainly needed, so is the need for stories from people who knew Dr. Harken, his staff, was a patient of his, knew someone who was, or any stories to share about him and the lives he touched. If there are former patients who might have something they received from Harken, like birthing baskets, the group would like to see those, too. They are also looking for any stories of well-known or famous people who might have passed through Osceola and come in contact with Harken Hospital.

As to what the five envision Harken Hospital becoming, there are many ideas being floated around. Talk of a historic bed and breakfast, a museum of medical history, innovations, or ag-related - Harken was one of the first people to bring Black Aberdeen Angus to Iowa - are all on the table. Input from the community to what they’d like to see there is welcomed, too.

“If you just think of all the people this hospital has touched, we all know multiple people that were either born or taken care of through the walls of this building. I think it’s essential that we preserve the history of that for our current and future generations,” said Taylor.

Once an alliance for community betterment is legally formed, the plan is for it to be around long after the Harken Hospital project is complete and to help with other historic buildings in not just Osceola, but Clarke County as a whole.

“Once they’re gone, they’re gone. You can’t replace a historic building,” said Crawford.

Who to contact

For those who have stories or pictures to share, or who wish to be a part of helping with the Harken Hospital restoration, Eckels is the current point of contact, 641-342-4200, while a Facebook page and email address are set up.

Harken History

Harken was born in eastern Iowa in 1884, and graduated from the University of Iowa College of Medicine in 1907 before making his home in Osceola.

In an excerpt from an autobiography Harken composed in 1948, he details some of what he saw during his years of practice at the hospital,

“In a building on the premises, a secluded room was equipped for the practice of surgical technique. Bones from the butcher were used for wiring, plating and inlay grafts; animal intestines for resections and anastomosis; live animals (usually dogs) for practice and experiment on living tissues. The value and advantages of such an arrangement are obvious…Rubber gloves were seldom seen. Solutions of potassium permangate and oxalic acid were used for hand disinfection.”

Harken also wrote about the advances in medicine he saw, including treatment of fractures, obstetrics and the evolution of medical knowledge in general.

Harken’s son Dwight practiced alongside him to learn medicine and would later go on to become a pioneer of open-heart surgery, working on soldiers on the battlefield in WWII to remove shrapnel from their hearts before perfecting the method in the operating room. He also helped form some of the first intensive care units.

In addition to medicine, Harken’s efforts extended to agriculture as noted with the Black Aberdeen Angus. Harken wanted to promote cattle ranching in Clarke County, and people would come from all over the world coming for cattle sales. One well known cattle buyer was J.C. Penney, and P. Buckley Moss had a painting that depicts sale day at the Harken Pavilion. That brick barn is still in existence today in Harken Hills, owned by the Oswald family, and used for their annual bull sale.

Harken died in 1975, and is buried in Maple Hill Cemetery with wife Edna and son Walter Alden.