Dr. Henry Theodore Bahnson was born in Pennsylvania in 1845. He was the son of Bishop George F. and Anna Gertrude Bahnson. He moved to Salem with his parents as a child, and attended the Salem Boy’s School. He studied at the Moravian Institute at Nazareth, Pennsylvania, and later at the Moravian College and Theological Seminary at Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
He returned to North Carolina in 1862, and enlisted in Company G of the North Carolina Infantry. During the Civil War, he was captured and imprisoned, and he became ill. A sore area around his elbow did not heal, and his elbow was later removed. He endured many battles and was with General Lee at Appomattox. After the war, he walked from Appomattox to Salem, arriving in very sickly condition.
He studied for and received a diploma in medicine in 1867, then traveled abroad to study in Berlin, Prague, and Utrecht. He returned to Salem to practice medicine.
Dr. Bahnson worked as house physician for Salem Academy and College for 30 years. He was also surgeon for the Southern Railway System, president of the Board of surgeons, and chief surgeon for the Winston-Salem Southbound Railway Company.
He planted the idea of a hospital with a group of women who worked to establish the first hospital in town. He was also well-known for his backyard garden and the huge lily pads that he grew.
He passed away in 1917. The infirmary at Salem College was named for Dr. Bahnson.
Photo courtesy of Forsyth County Public Library Photograph Collection.
