Watts Hospital was the first and only Black hospital in Oakland. It was established in 1926 by Dr. William Watts, a Black physician from Houston, Texas.
William M. Watts (1885-1980) was born on February 15, 1885, in Lodi, Texas, to Perry and Jane Watts. He earned a medical degree from Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1915. Watts died in 1980 while living in Arkansas.
Dr. Watts arrived in Oakland in 1924 after living in Fresno, CA.
Watts Hospital functioned as a hospital, sanitarium, and training school for Black nurses. At the time, local hospitals refused to train Black nurses.
The modern 22-bed located at 3437 Harlen Street in North Oakland,
“Expert diagnois, expert surgery, expert treatment and expert nursing with good will to all.”
Dr. Watts also had a private practice on 36th Street and wrote a column entitled “How to Keep Well” for the Western American, a local Black newspaper.
Watts Hospital was only in business for two years. Dr. Watts returned to Texas (c1928) to manage a hospital there.
In 1928, Highland Hospital integrated its nurses’ training program.
More Info:
Photos from the African American Library Oakland CA – William Watts Papers
- William M. Watts – Oakland Local Wiki
- Sheppard-Watts Hospital – East Texas History
- Moves to Oakland – California Eagle February 29, 1924
- Watts Obiturary –Marshall News Messenger October 27, 1980
- Cass County native a pioneering physician – Texarkana Gazette March 21, 2018
Thank you for sharing this informational gem!
Thank you for the birthday gift, it arrived on the 21st in ‘2025 and I was born in 1926. My parents, Tom and Clyde had businesses on Peralta Ave- Father, Shoe Repair Shop, and Mother, a Beauty Shop. Precious Memories.