This Week in Odessa History

Sixty-four years ago the commissioners of Lincoln Hospital District #1 advertised for construction bids for the Veteran’s Memorial Hospital in Odessa.

Early in 1946, the Veterans of Foreign Wars had planned to erect a memorial to Odessa’s war dead. A living memorial in the form of a hospital was proposed rather than simply a monument. This grew into a community effort, with Lincoln County’s first hospital district being formed in Odessa. Financing was made available through Hill-Burton funding and a local bond issue. The hospital was opened in 1950. It was built for an original cost of $135,00...