The many thousand Hebrews of New York took no distinctive part in the hospital accommodations of the metropolis until about twenty years ago. The act of Legislature by which the Jewish Hospital was incorporated bears date of January 5, 1852. About that time Sampson Simson, a wealthy Hebrew, donated a lot of ground in Twenty-eighth street, near Eighth avenue, and the society purchased an adjoining lot and erected the handsome brick Hospital, still in use, at a cost of nearly $35,000. The corner-stone of the structure was laid with appropriate exercises in the presence of a large concourse of citizens on the 25th of November, 1853, and the Hospital opened for the reception of patients amid much rejoicing on the 17th of May, 1855. One hundred and thirteen patients were admitted the first year.

The Institution is under the control of twelve directors, three of whom are elected annually by the members of the society and serve four years. Members are admitted on the annual payment of five dollars, or one hundred paid at one time, which entitles them to a voice at all meetings of the society, and to a preference in the benefits of the Hospital. In 1853 Mr. Touro, of New Orleans, increased the capital of the society by a donation of $20,000, and in 1863 two of the directors proposed to contribute $10,000 each, on condition that the Board should raise a permanent fund of $50,000, which was soon accomplished.

During the sixteen years of its operations, it has received 6,925 patients; about 5,500 of them have been restored to health, and about 1,400 surgical operations have been performed. The design of the society, as set forth at its incorporation, is to "afford surgical and medical aid, comfort, and protection in sickness to deserving and needy Israelites," but their charities have extended far beyond their own persuasion. Many sick and disabled soldiers during the war were received and treated in their Institution. When in 1866 the city was threatened with cholera, a ward was prepared and. promptly tendered to the Board of Health. Casualty patients have always been received and every possible alleviation afforded, often at considerable expense to the managers; and whenever a poor unfortunate has lost a limb by amputation, the directors have invariably procured him an artificial one. True to the instincts of their illustrious ancestors, they regard every man in distress a brother, and opening the tent door bid him welcome to the enjoyment of their hospitality. In their printed report they say, "The ear of the Hebrew is never deaf to the cry of the needy, nor his heart unmoved at the suffering of a fellow man, whatever be his creed, origin, or nationality." Several of the Jewish Rabbis give unwearied attention to the religious interests of their patients, and suffering Gentiles are allowed to receive visits from their own spiritual advisers. The Hospital contains a small synagogue. They also own a burial-place, and bury the dead without charge to the friends of the deceased.

The necessities of the public and the wants of the society some time since outgrew the capacity of their modest building, which has never been able to accommodate over about sixty-five patients. Their surroundings have also sadly changed. At the time of opening the Hospital, the neighborhood was clean, airy, and quiet. But during the last few years the building has been surrounded by factories, breweries, and workshops, whose steam-engines are puffing day and night, to the great annoyance of the patients, who sigh for quiet and rest. These factories have brought also a class of families that add greatly to the noise and filth of the neighborhood. In October, 1867, a steam boiler exploded within a hundred feet of the Hospital, and was thrown several hundred feet in the air, crushing a dwelling and some of the inmates in its descent. The concussion at the Hospital was terrible. The walls were shaken, windows shattered, and the panic among the poor patients indescribable. This occurrence settled the matter of removal, and the directors began to inquire for a more eligible site. The Common Council granted them a lease of twelve lots situated on Lexington avenue, between Sixty-fifth and Sixty-sixth streets, for ninety-nine years, at a nominal rent of one dollar per annum.