The original Dunwoody Home at 3500 West Chester Pike, Newtown Square. The original building was torn down in the 1990's and replaced.
NOTE. It was 102 years ago that Dunwoody left a million dollars for a hospital now a home. A "forgotten' Delco person.
MILLION FOR NEW HOSPITAL
William H. Dunwoody
Bequeaths Site and Fund for Institution at Newtown Square
William Hood Dunwoody left his home at
Newtown Square, this county, fifty-one years ago, and went to Philadelphia,
where he engaged in business. Seven
years later he went west to make his fortune.
He located in Minneapolis, Minn., and by strict attention to business
amassed a fortune of several millions of dollars. Last week Mr. Dunwoody died, at the age of 72
years, leaving an estate valued at $8,000,000, his will containing a bequest of
$1,000,000 for the construction and maintenance of a hospital for poor
convalescents, a tribute to the memory of his birthplace in this county. The will specifies that the hospital be
erected on the Dunwoody farm at Newtown Square, one hundred and twenty-five
acres of the old homestead given as a site for the building.
Forty-four years ago, Mr. Dunwoody, then a
young man of 28, gave up his interest in a flour business in Philadelphia and,
with his wife, went to Minneapolis when that city was just beginning to be one
of the great business centers of the northwest, and Mr. Dunwoody was one of the
men who aided in its commercial and industrial development.
While a central figure in the development of
his chosen city, Mr. Dunwoody never neglected his relatives in this
county. Some years ago he bought his
brother’s interest in the farm, and made two visits each year to it. Mr. and Mrs. George Beaumont, cousins of Mr.
Dunwoody, live in the old farmhouse.
While his relatives knew he gave liberally
to institutions in the West, they did not know until Saturday that he intended
to build a hospital on the site of his boyhood home.
Men on the board of trustees named by Mr.
Dunwoody to take charge of the hospital project are Dr. J.K. Mitchell, S.K.
Zook, Albert L. Hood, W .T. Gest, all of
Philadelphia; Stanley Yarnall, Media; Dr. J.G. Thomas and Randall P. Dutton, of
West Chester, and D. H. Lewis of Newtown Square, and four Minneapolis men, John
Crosby, F.G. Atkinson, G.W. Erticker and James S. Babb.
FORTUNE IN GRAIN
The Dunwoody fortune was made in the grain
and flour business and early railroad ventures in the northwest. Mr. Dunwoody was also interested in many
banks. At his death he held the
following positions: Chairman board of
directors Northwestern National Bank, director Minneapolis Loan and Trust
Company, president St. Anthony and Dakota and St. Anthony elevator companies,
president Baraum Grain Company; vice president Washburn-Crosby Company,
director Great Northern Railroad.
Before Mr. Dunwoody left for the West he
married Kate L. Patton, daughter of John W. Patton, a leather merchant of
Philadelphia. Relatives say he always
attributed his great business success to his wife, who had her father’s keen
business sense.
She survives him and will continue to live
in the beautiful Dunwoody home, “Overlook” at Minneapolis.
Her sister, Miss Alice Patton, lives at
Wayne, while a brother, John M. Patton is a Philadelphian. Among Mr. Dunwoody’s relatives are the
Beaumonts who live at the farm; Mrs. Mary Dunwoody of West Chester; Wilmer Hood
and Albert L. Hood of Philadelphia, and W. D. and Dr. J. e. Dunwoody of
Llanerch. He has one other brother
living in Colorado.
As banker, Miller, art patron, and
philanthropist, Mr. Dunwoody was widely known in the northwest. He opened a direct market for Minneapolis
flour in Europe, introduced the roller system of crushing wheat, and was a
leader in the production, classification and selling of by-products of the
milling business.
As a philanthropist he was most
generous. He gave $2,000,000 to the
Minneapolis Society of Fine Arts for the museum building. He gave to all kinds of charitable
institutions in a way to attract the least attention.
For many generations the Dunwoody’s were
farmers of Chester County. His great
grandfather tilled the soil there. James
Dunwoody, his father, was a man of high standing in the community. His mother, Hannah Hood, was a daughter of
William Hood of Delaware County, a descendant of John Hood, one of the
companions of William Penn.
GAVE MONEY TO “FRIENDS”
Recently Mr. Dunwoody spent $15,000 on
improvements at the Friends’ Meeting House, Newtown Square. Members of his family had long been connected
with the meeting. A concrete wall was
built around the burying ground, and gateways were constructed.
The smaller bequests have not been made
public, but it is expected that his relatives will benefit. Among other large bequests were $100,000 to
the Presbyterian board of foreign missions; $100,000 to Presbyterian board of
home mission; $100,000 to Westminster Presbyterian Church of Minneapolis, of
which he was a trustee.
To Minneapolis is given the Abbott Hospital,
with a trust fund of $100,000 and the Minneapolis Y.M.C.A. gets $50,000. Minneapolis Society of Fine Arts, $1,000,000,
$2,200,000 goes to the widow and other relatives.
The residue, said to amount to from
$1,000,000 to $2,000,000 goes to the William Hood Dunwoody Industrial Institute
of Minneapolis, “teaching handicrafts and useful trades, with special emphasis
on those relating to milling and milling machinery.”
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