A
Wealth of Physicians for Sanger
Since the establishment of Sanger in 1886, the community was always fortunate for the physicians that served the people of Sanger and surrounding areas.
Submitted by Sanger Area Historical Society.
died in 1897 and is buried at the Bolivar Cemetery.
The Gulf, Colorado, and Santa Fe Railroad built their tracks in Purcell, Oklahoma; thus, a station was established in Sanger as a water stop for the steam engines. The cattle owners began herding the cattle into Sanger to ride the rails to market, and thus the town of Sanger was officially established in 1886. The town began to grow with the businesses needed for these cattle drivers. F.M. Ready opened a hotel, became postmaster, and the two physicians of Bolivar moved to the newly developing town.
Dr. George D. Lain moved from Bolivar to Sanger in 1900 after practicing in Bolivar since 1892. He attended St. Louis Medical School from 1885-86, returned to Bolivar, and taught school for one year. The doctor was teaching and ministering to the sick in the area but was persuaded to quit the teaching position and focus entirely on the area’s medical needs. Lain also owned the drugstore in Bolivar, and as all pioneer doctors, he rode over the land attending to his patients. Lain and his family moved to Sanger and bought the home of Dr. E. W. H. Shelburne of Sanger, who had been elected Dr. George to the Texas State Legislature. There is not much information about Dr. Shelburne and his practice in the area. Lain’s home was just west of the Methodist Church.
Dr. Ervin L. Howard was the first physician to relocate to Sanger from the Bolivar community. Dr. Howard lived in Pope County, Arkansas, enlisted in the war, and fought in Pea Ridge’s Battle in 1862. After the war ended, the doctor and his wife came to Texas as many veterans did. After the establishment of Sanger, Howard built a new home at the corner of Bolivar and Fifth Street. Dr. Howard
In 1910 Sanger had several cases of typhoid fever. Previously there had been 25-30 cases of typhoid, which was attributed to the water supply system. The addition of a new water system corrected this. There was an influenza epidemic in 1918, and the physicians of Sanger spent many hard hours traveling the surrounding areas attending to the ill. During this time, it was reported there were funerals
During the early 1800s, the settlement of Bolivar was a thriving community. It was home to three hotels, several stores, a sawmill, a blacksmith shop, a saloon, a church, a gin, a flour mill, and a school for the community’s children. Doctors E.L. (Ervin) Howard and George Lain were community physicians serving patients via their horses throughout the night as needed by seriously ill residents.
