Historic Walker County

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Top: Huntsville City Council with W.
S. Gibbs and Kate Barr Ross, 1960.
COURTESY OF THE HUNTSVILLE
ARTS COMMISSION.
Middle: In 1927, Ella Smither deeded
land for the construction of Huntsville
Memorial Hospital.
COURTESY OF THE HUNTSVILLE
ARTS COMMISSION.
Bottom: In 1948 a new brick
Huntsville Memorial Hospital was
constructed.
COURTESY OF THE HUNTSVILLE
ARTS COMMISSION.
In Walker County, the tensions of the coming
decades seemed far away in 1945. The most
notable outcome of World War II was the return of
service men and women and the resulting baby
boom that continued for the next decade.
According to Kate Barr Ross, Huntsville’s long-time
city secretary, 353 babies were born in the
Huntsville area in 1946. This averaged one baby
per day. Records show that the population of
Walker County grew from 19,868 in 1940 to
27,680 in 1970, an increase of almost 30 percent. 91
As the county grew, health care became a
major concern. With the threat of polio, leaders
supported the March of Dimes and encouraged
Walker County residents and businesses to
donate generously. On September 6, 1945, fear
set in among local residents when they learned
of two cases of polio in Huntsville. Many
parents did not want to send their children to
school, but city leaders pled with the public to
remain calm. The rise of polio and other
medical issues compelled community activists
to call for renovations and additions to the
ailing building that housed Huntsville Memorial
Hospital. Originally constructed in 1927, the
wooden hospital building had only seven beds
and rudimentary facilities. A new brick hospital
was constructed in 1950, increasing the number
4 2 ✦ H I S T O R I C W A L K E R C O U N T Y