The City Hospital of Akron had its inception in a fund left by an early resident, Boniface DeRoo. The fund which represented the lifetime savings of a frugal hard working man, amounted to $10,000.
The first building used for the hospital was an old frame house at the corner of Broadway Street and Center Street. Patients were seen, but the old hose proved to be too old to continue serving as a hospital. The hospital was closed until a new plan could be established. In 1892, the City Hospital Association was formed. T.W. Cornell, O.C. Barber, Henry Perkins, and William McFarlin were among those involved. The association worked to reopen the hospital in a more modern setting.