Beebe Hospital - Delaware Public Archives

In 1916, two brothers, Drs. James Beebe, Sr. and Richard C. Beebe, had a shared vision to bring modern-day medicine to Sussex County. The Beebe brothers started the first private hospital outside the city of Wilmington on Savannah Road in Lewes. The hospital began as a small, four-room hospital with an operating room and two patient rooms large enough for three patients. Constructed in 1921, the Benjamin F. and Helen M. Shaw Building expanded Beebe Hospital to a 35-bed facility. The Beebe School of Nursing was founded on site this same year. During WWII, Beebe played a vital role in treating the war-wounded, including the sailors and merchant marines whose ships had been torpedoed off the coast by German submarines. Dr. James Beebe, Jr., the first certified surgeon in Sussex County and son of one of the founders, developed the first cancer tumor registry in Delaware in 1950. For over 100 years, Beebe Hospital has served the community through the ongoing efforts of the Beebe family and thousands of healthcare workers, doctors, nurses, volunteers and donors.