St. Elizabeth Hospital Fire

On Tuesday, January 7, 2025, a 75th anniversary memorial service was held at Genesis MercyOne remembering the 41 women who perished in the St. Elizabeth Hospital Fire on January 7, 1950 just off Marquette and Lombard streets.

The 41 women included 40 patients and 1 nurse. This nurse, Anna Neal, who braved the flames to save her patients and died as a result, was a German immigrant and member of Zion Lutheran Church, Davenport, Iowa.

Zion’s archive burial records document that her funeral was at Zion two days after the fire. The record notes that death was from a hospital fire.  Officiant was The Rev. H.H. Landdeck.

Roy Porter, the last living fireman and witness of this tragic event, is a member of St. Paul Lutheran Church, Davenport, Iowa.

A copy of The St. Elizabeth Hospital Fire in Iowa by Bret Grimes is available in Zion’s Library for   anyone who would like to read about this historical event in Davenport, Iowa that changed  the future on how mental hospitals were structured throughout our nation.