Dr. Harvey Van Buren, the first African-American physician in Statesboro, opened his Van Buren Sanitarium on Elm Street in December 1918, Candra E. Teshome told the Bulloch County Historical Society during a past meeting.

“At the time, his practice was very important to the community because during the flu epidemic after World War I, he served the community, African-Americans and Caucasians in the community, at that location,” Teshome said.

On Sunday, the Historical Society will dedicate a historical marker for the Van Buren Sanitarium on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. The ceremony will recognize the historical significance of the Sanitarium and its lasting impact on the community. 

According to a release from the city of Statesboro, the marker’s location on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive is not the original location of the hospital, which is 38 Elm Street, but the location will provide historical context in a highly visible area. 

Sunday’s 3 p.m. ceremony will take place at Luetta Moore Park. A reception will follow the dedication.

Born in 1884 in Sumter, South Carolina, Van Buren obtained his medical degree from Howard University in Washington, D.C., in 1907. After starting a medical practice in D.C., he completed a post-graduate course at the Boston College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1910. Then he moved to Louisville, Georgia, where he practiced medicine until 1915, when he moved to Statesboro.

Van Buren commissioned Wallace A. Rayfield, who had also attended Howard University, to design the sanitarium, according to Teshome and other sources. It was the first hospital for African-Americans in Bulloch County.