Fourth Annual Dismukes Gala Returns to Welch to Honor a Forgotten McDowell County Legacy
Nearly a century after Dr. Henry Dodford Dismukes opened the largest privately owned Black hospital in the country in Kimball, West Virginia, the community he served is coming together again to make sure his story — and the building that held it — isn’t lost to history.
By Tylah Cline
Nearly a century after Dr. Henry Dodford Dismukes opened the largest privately owned Black hospital in the country in Kimball, West Virginia, the community he served is coming together again to make sure his story — and the building that held it — isn’t lost to history.
The Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) will host the fourth annual Dismukes Gala Fundraiser on Saturday, August 15, from 6 to 9 p.m. EDT at the Jack Caffrey Arts & Cultural Center, 143 Wyoming St., Welch, WV. The evening will feature live music from The Company Band and a full dinner, with tickets set at $50 and semi-formal attire requested. RSVP and payment are due by August 1.
As BBG reported in 2024, Dr. Dismukes opened Henrietta Dismukes Hospital in August 1929, naming it for his mother, who died a month before its doors opened. At the time, it was the largest privately owned African American hospital in the country, with 50 beds and the latest medical technology, serving Black coal miners and their families across the Kimball-Norfolk area of McDowell County. The hospital operated for just three years before racist treatment from a white-owned corporation that had promised — then failed to deliver — payment for his work helped force its closure in 1932. Dismukes went on to become the first Black man in the United States to challenge a white corporation in court over breach of contract.
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The hospital itself is gone, but the adjacent Nurses’ Home still stands, now in need of major repair after decades of vacancy. That’s where this year’s gala funds are headed: MCC’s community steering committee has proposed turning the building into a community learning center, offering classes in technology and literacy, canning, gardening, knitting, and cooking, along with tutoring for local students.
“We celebrate the legacy and the incredible resilience of people like Dr. Dismukes, Dr. [Roscoe] Harrison and the African American nurses who worked here,” MCC Great Lakes executive director Eric Kurtz said when the project was first announced. “We hope that shedding light on this story can lead to a better future for all people.”
Organizers are also accepting sponsorships for those who can’t make it to Welch in person, with levels ranging from Bronze ($250–$2,499) to Platinum ($10,000+), the top tier of which includes a permanent recognition plaque at the Henrietta Dismukes Hospital and Nurses’ Home site.
Tickets and sponsorship: Contact Tylah Cline at 606-634-4418 (option 3) or TylahCline@mcc.org, or buy tickets online. Checks can be made payable to MCC with “Dismukes Gala sponsorship” in the memo line, mailed to MCC Great Lakes, 1013 Division Street, Goshen, IN 46528.
Read the full history of Dr. Dismukes and the hospital he built
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