The 19th century hospital was gifted to the Salvation Army by a Covington businessman

By David E. Schroeder, executive director of the Kenton County Public Library

Tucked away on Covington’s East Second Street in the heart of the Licking Riverside Neighborhood stands the stately Governors Point condominium community. Nearly a century old, the building is a rather new addition to the city’s oldest neighborhood.

Governors Point was once the home to Booth Memorial Hospital, but the story begins much earlier.

Amos Shinkle once owned a significant plot of land on which the building now stands. Shinkle was born in Ohio, but as a young man moved to Covington, and over time, created an extensive array of businesses. He made a fortune in the second half of the 19th century in the Ohio River barge trade. He was also a significant supporter and long-time president of the Cincinnati and Covington Suspension Bridge Company, which was responsible for building the John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge across the Ohio River.

Shinkle used his fortune as one of the region’s earliest philanthropists. He founded and financed the construction the Covington Protestant Children’s Home (now CHNK Behavioral Health) and assisted in the building of several Methodist Churches in Northern Kentucky. He was one of Covington’s early movers and shakers.

Shinkle, his wife, Sarah, and their children lived in several locations in Covington. His most impressive home was the aptly named the castle on East Second Street, which he built in 1869. This grand Victorian home was the largest in Covington at that time and dominated the landscape. Shinkle lived in the home until his death in 1892. The castle was inherited by his family. They soon found the large home to be cold, drafty and too large to maintain. Eventually, they approached the Salvation Army, who agreed to accept the home as a gift. Initially the house was used as a home for single mothers and homeless women.

In 1914, the Salvation Army decided to open a hospital in the castle. The new institution was named Booth Memorial Hospital in honor of William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army. In December 1914, a fund drive was conducted, which raised $63,000 to outfit the building for hospital use.

As Booth Memorial Hospital grew, the old Shinkle castle quickly outlived its usefulness. The building had been designed as a home, not a hospital. It lacked many modern conveniences including elevators. A fund drive was begun in the early 1920s to replace the old Shinkle castle with a modern hospital building. This was accomplished in 1925 with the construction of the current Governors Point building. Unfortunately, this resulted in the complete demolition of the venerable old Shinkle castle.

The Great Depression nearly brought the operation of Booth Memorial Hospital to a permanent closure. Finances became so precarious that hospital officials announced its temporary closure in August 1932. This temporary shutdown lasted for five years. Following a complete renovation, Booth Memorial Hospital reopened in January 1937, just in time to deal with the 1937 flood. Flood waters inundated the basement causing the boiler system to fail. Despite the flood, the hospital stayed open and provided shelter for 100 homeless residents.

Booth Memorial contained 125 beds by 1925. The institution also operated a nurses training school and residence hall for many years. As the population of Northern Kentucky grew, the need for more hospital beds and modern facilities resulted in the construction of an addition to the building in 1950 and again in 1958. Despite these advances, the hospital struggled financially.

Urban flight in the 1960s and the construction of the new St. Elizabeth Hospital in Edgewood had a significant impact on Booth Hospital. With little room to expand, and a declining population to serve in Covington, preliminary plans to move to a more advantageous location were inaugurated. On April 4, 1973, hospital officials announced the construction of a new Booth Memorial Hospital in Florence, in neighboring Boone County. Ground was broken in 1977, and the new facility opened in July 1979. Eventually Booth Memorial was acquired by St. Luke Hospital which was ultimately purchased by St. Elizabeth Healthcare.

The old Booth Memorial sat vacant on Second Street in Covington for some time. Eventually, the complex was purchased by a development company and transformed into Governors Point. The complex quickly became a highly sought-after residential address.

Although Booth Memorial Hospital no longer exists, many historical records, photographs and histories are preserved at the Kenton County Public Library in Covington.