Harney Hospital

In 1915, Elizabeth Harney, who trained as a practical nurse, built this hospital with the backing of Dr. Samuel Young. Elizabeth opened the hospital in 1916 and employed doctors Young, Volin, and Stevens. The Harney family lived in the upper stories. Surgery was performed in the northwest room of the second floor, where a slanted skylight in the ceiling provided additional light. Though systems of medical care had changed by the 1940s, Elizabeth continued to use the hospital for the delivery of babies and nursing home care for the elderly until her death in 1948. Dr. H.P. Volin bought the building, then known as The Clinic, and subsequent local doctors also had offices here. The upstairs was converted into boarding rooms or apartments. In 1984, it became the museum of the Lennox Area Historical Society, and in 2004, ownership was transferred to the City of Lennox. The interior of Harney Hospital remains almost entirely in its original state. The original carriage house, which housed both the carriage and horses, is at the rear of the property as well. Harney Hospital was listed in the National Register of Historical Places in 1984.