CHOMS visits the Calgary Cottage Hospital exhibit at Heritage Park

On May 31st, 2025, the Calgary History of Medicine Society (CHOMS) conducted its early-summer field excursion to the Calgary Cottage Hospital at Heritage Park, Calgary, Alberta. They left from UCalgary's Cal Wenzel Precision Health Building in the morning and arrived at the living history museum of Heritage Park Historical Village – the 127 acres of parkland on the banks of the Glenmore Reservoir. Mike Walshe’s special events team greeted them at the admissions area, for what became an exciting 4-hour event at the park – including delicious, handcrafted ice cream for the whole group (~ after having learned about historical tonsillectomies in paediatrics) and two rides on Heritage Park’s railway with its 100-pound rail on a standard gauge track. Following to a guided stroll alongside major legacy buildings of the townscape of Village Square, they toured the original Calgary Cottage Hospital (established in October 1890), which was in existence since the turn from the 19th to the 20th century. Many towns in Alberta, including Bassano, Coleman, Lethbridge, and Strathcona inaugurated their first (and very small) hospitals in cottage houses – with surgical operations often being conducted on the dining room table.

The cottage was built in 1907by Irish-descendant Peter M. Dewar (1885-1917) as a gingerbread trim house. It arrived at Heritage Park from its earlier place in the Eau Claire area and was fully refurbished, including the birthing room, the surgery area, and the kitchen on the main floor, as well as the lodging rooms on the first floor. CHOMS members became introduced to the swathes of home remedies offered on the prairies at the end of the 19th century, while witnessing the preparation of rhubarb-granulate and vinegar based wound astringent (~ the stench of which immediately turned everyone into being their most healthy selves...). While being appreciative of the historical medical approaches taken at the time, CHOMS researchers and student members unanimously favoured the advances and care options provided in modern hospitals. Thank you so much to Heritage Park and Mike Walshe’s team for hosting the 2025 CHOMS excursion on a spectacularly beautiful summer day!