A Brief History of The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences by G. David Anderson, University Archivist Page: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7

The George Washington University opened in 1821 as Columbian College, when Washington had only nine physicians and two apothecaries. The time was ripe for change, and in 1825 the college added a medical department to its curriculum. This, the eleventh medical department in the nation and the first in the capital, would evolve into the internationally recognized medical school, hospital, and ambulatory care facility, The George Washington University Medical Center.
The first GW medical department was funded entirely by its faculty, six of whom financed the building of the first facility in downtown Washington on 10th and E Streets near Ford's Theatre. The distinguished faculty included Thomas Sewall, professor of anatomy and a Harvard graduate; and James Staughton, professor of surgery and son of Columbian College president William Staughton, and soon expanded to include others. The department offered a full curriculum, which included anatomy, physiology, surgery, "theory and practice of physic," meteria medica, chemistry, and obstetrics.

Over the next fifteen years, the medical department continued to grow, and in the 1840's acquired Congressional approval to use a larger building at Judiciary Square (initially considered by the government for use as an insane asylum) as an infirmary. In 1844 the GW Infirmary began operation as the first general hospital in the nation's capital and one of the earliest teaching hospitals. Then as now, care of the indigent was an important service at GW: Supported in part by the federal government, which appropriated between two and six thousand dollars a year for the purpose, GW treated "transient sick paupers" in addition to paying customers. In 1847 the Medical department of Columbian College became the National Medical College, and by the early 1850's was in in the forefront of medical education in the nation. In 1853, the GW Infirmary was enlarged, and the improved facility allowed the faculty to include clinical studies formally in the curriculum. Since few schools taught clinical medicine before the early twentieth century, this addition was remarkable in its foresight.

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