Harmon General Hospital

Established here by the United States Army in 1942, Harmon General Hospital was named for Colonel Daniel W. Harmon (1880-1940), a medical officer in the regular Army. 220 buildings were rapidly constructed on the 156-acre site, and the hospital was activated on Nov. 24, 1942, with Colonel G. V. Emerson as the first commanding officer. Harmon General had facilities for surgery, physical therapy, laboratory analysis, dental care, and medical treatment. Associated with the hospital were a post exchange, chapel, library, post office, bank, theater, gymnasium, laundry, mess halls, barracks, and living quarters for the nurses and physicians -- all combined to make the facility a self-reliant community. Major M. K. Moulding succeeded Colonel Emerson as commanding officer. 200 inmates of the prisoner of war camp at Fannin were assigned in May 1945 to work at the hospital. The facility closed when the last of the 25,000 wartime patients left in Dec. 1945. The hospital attracted wide community support. The Garden Study Club of Longview landscaped much of the grounds. Their projects included an "allee or crepe myrtle" planted along the original main entrance. LeTourneau College now (1976) occupies the site.

Harmon General Hospital is a historical marker in Longview, Gregg County, dedicated in 1976. It is one of 81 historical markers documented in Gregg County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 124 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 32.4668, -94.7296 near Longview. The nearest cataloged historic site is Robert Gilmour LeTourneau (historical marker), about under a tenth of a mile away. Others within a short drive include Harmon General Hospital Chapel, Longview High School, and Perry-Clay.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5183009964. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.