Mother Hull Home

Introduction

Text-to-speech Audio

For the last 130 years, Mother Hull Home has been an active member of the Kearney community, serving the needs of the elderly and the poor. It has been owned continuously since 1889 by the Women’s Christian Temperance Union. Its namesake, Nancy Hull, was both the wife of a local physician and the treasurer of the WCTU at the time. The building started in the original Kearney Courthouse, then moved later to the site where it exists in today. The Home was the first hospital in Kearney, though it is now a skilled nursing facility.

Images

Original Mother Hull Home,

Backstory and Context

Text-to-speech Audio

Mother Hull Home was founded in 1880 as the first nursing home in Kearney. Throughout its history, it has remained steadfast as a pillar of the community. The Women's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) has overseen the nursing home since it began.

Hull Home is named for Nancy Hull, the wife of a local physician in early Kearney and an outspoken member of the WCTU. In addition to helping to found the nursing home, she also helped to serve the needy and the poor, and founded the first library in the community. Mother Hull Home served as the first hospital in Kearney, until St. Luke’s was established and later Good Samaritan Hospital. When those were established, Mother Hull converted to a nursing and care facility. As Mrs. Eleanor Munn, Nancy Hull's granddaughter, stated in 1929, "banks have gone one by one, corporations have crashed and business failures have been in our community but Mother Hull Home stands as a monument to the faith, hope and love supplemented by the sound business judgment of the noble band of the WCTU who is still carrying on with unabated zeal and indomitable courage."

The WCTU has done many things within Kearney throughout it's history. They sought clothing and food for the poor, took care of the sick and invalid, and helped the poor. They did a number of fundraising activities to help fund their efforts, such as ice cream socials, plays, and musical entertainment. Hull was truly one of the patron women of Kearney's founding.

Sources

Peck, Ella Melton. Origins of the Mother Hull Home, BCHS. June 1st 1980. Accessed December 8th 2020. http://bchs.us/BTales_198006.htm.

Giboney, Sara. Hospitals come and go, Kearney Hub. November 12th 2010. Accessed December 8th 2020. https://kearneyhub.com/news/local/article_d7af4554-ffa4-11de-8ec1-001cc4c03286.html.

Image Sources(Click to expand)

www.loc.gov