1910-1929

Legend has it that an old horse actually "discovered" the curative qualities of the mineral waters in Mt. Clemens where the Henry Ford Macomb Hospital was first founded. After standing under a dripping water tank, the horse's rheumatic joints appeared to be healed.

It was later found that the chemicals in the Mt. Clemens water were more concentrated and diversified than any other baths in the world. In fact, 65 gallons of water, when evaporated, would leave 125 pounds of solid mineral matter.

After the normal 21 sessions of baths and massages, staff would see visitors walk out who had come to them crippled so badly that they were confined to a wheelchair. While Mt. Rushmore, the world's largest sculptured historic monument, was taking shape around the latter part of the 1920s, Henry Ford Macomb Hospital was thinking big. As the only institution of its kind between Detroit and Port Huron, the demand for more space and hospital beds prompted a further expansion of services and a 100-bed hospital addition.

Community support for St. Joseph's was strong even back then, as evidenced by the $50,000 pledged by area residents to help build the $400,000 addition.

1910 - Henry Ford Macomb hospital's nursing program becomes one of the first in Michigan to be officially licensed.

1924 - A 100-bed hospital addition opens April 4.