Program

Hometown Heritage®

Subject

Building, Site

Location

1133 E Fairhaven Ave, Burlington, WA 98233, USA

Lat/Long

48.475589729504, -122.31937202881

Grant Recipient

Burlington Historical Society

Construction on the Burlington General Hospital was started in 1909 and completed in February of 1910. It was three floors, with waiting rooms, administrative offices, the anesthetics rooms, and emergency wards on the first floor, and private and public wards on the upper two floors. It was noted upon completion that the building was protected from fire, had the most up-to-date appliances, and sanitary ventilation.

In December 1924, Woodman Matthews, an early Skagit County pioneer, passed away. In his will, he left $10,000 for the hospital, on the condition that it be named after him. He had obtained his fortune by selling early parcels of land in the area and operating an early mill nearby. He also taught as a schoolteacher. For unclear reasons, the hospital did not receive the funding until 1945. However, In March of 1945 the hospital was re-named the Matthews General Hospital and began re-modeling with the funding.

The hospital served the Burlington community until it closed in 1962. Plans were already underway for a new, modern hospital to be built to serve the joint Burlington-Sedro-Woolley areas. Part of the reason for the Matthews Hospital closure was a 1957 licensing law passed by the state legislature requiring certain hallway widths and for operating rooms to be located in certain parts of the building. The Matthews Hospital owner claimed renovating the hospital to the new standards would cost him $250,000, so he chose to close instead, despite the new hospital still being several years away from opening. The building was sold and, as of 2025, it is an apartment building.