Edna Jackson Carver
{{Short description|American physician and health spa operator}}
{{about|the American physician|the Tlingit artist|Edna Jackson (artist)|the American politician|Edna Jackson (politician)}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Edna Jackson Carver
| image = EdnaCarver1915.jpg
| alt = A white woman in profile, brightly lit from the left; her hair is in an updo, and she is wearing a high-collared blouse and jacket.
| caption = Edna Jackson Carver, from a 1915 publication.
| other_names =
| birth_name = Edna Jackson
| birth_date = 1868
| birth_place = Salina, Kansas, U.S.
| death_date = June 20, {{death year and age|1954|1868}}
| death_place = Steamboat, Nevada, U.S.
| occupation = Physician
| years_active =
| known_for = Owner of Steamboat Hot Springs Spa
| notable_works =
| spouse(s) =
| relatives =
}}
Edna Jackson Carver (1868 – June 20, 1954) was an American physician, operator of a health spa at Steamboat Hot Springs, near Reno, Nevada, from 1919 to 1954.
Early life
Edna Jackson was born in Salina, Kansas and raised in Sheridan, Wyoming Territory, the daughter of William Edward Jackson. She graduated from the Colorado College of Osteopathy in 1905.{{Cite news|date=1954-06-22|title=Dr. Edna Carver Taken by Death|pages=2|work=Nevada State Journal|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/2853877/nevada-state-journal/|access-date=2020-06-15|via=Newspapers.com}} She was a charter member of the Sheridan chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star.{{Cite news|date=1954-03-06|title=Chapter Honors Charter Members|pages=14|work=The Billings Gazette|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/53497969/chapter-honors-charter-members/|access-date=2020-06-15|via=Newspapers.com}}
Career
Carver had an osteopathic practice in Denver, and invested in land there. She also practiced in New York City for six years. In 1913, she spoke at the International Congress of Farm Women in Tulsa, on the subject "Keeping the Right Mental Attitude", telling her audience, "It is a great thing to earn a living, but it is a greater thing to live a life."{{Cite book|last=Agriculture|first=Missouri State Board of|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mvwZAQAAIAAJ&q=Dr.+Edna+Carver&pg=PA572|title=Annual Report|date=1914|pages=459, 572|language=en}} She was the physician and head chaperone on a film company's publicity train trip in 1915, called the "American Beauty Special"; it ran from Chicago to Los Angeles, filled with beauty contest winners hoping for a screen test in Hollywood.[https://books.google.com/books?id=HfHNAAAAMAAJ&dq=Dr.+Edna+Carver&pg=RA6-PA68 "An American Beauty Special"] Santa Fe Magazine (June 1915): 68.{{Cite news|date=1915-06-17|title=Beauties Splash Placid Waters of San Diego Bay|pages=26|work=The Los Angeles Times|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/53499899/beauties-splash-placid-waters-of-san/|access-date=2020-06-15|via=Newspapers.com}}
Carver became the owner of Steamboat Hot Springs in 1918. She rebuilt the lodgings and bathing facilities, and opened it as a health spa in 1919.{{Cite news|last=Trego|first=Robert|date=1950-04-09|title=Steamboat Springs as it is Today is the Work of Dr. Edna Carver|pages=7|work=Nevada State Journal|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/53497482/steamboat-springs-as-it-is-today-is-the/|access-date=2020-06-15|via=Newspapers.com}} She drilled deep wells to access additional springs, and welcomed athletes and racehorses for rehabilitation.{{Cite news|date=1954-06-22|title=Dr. Edna Carver Rites Planned Here Thursday|pages=11|work=Reno Gazette-Journal|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/53496733/dr-edna-carver-rites-planned-here/|access-date=2020-06-15|via=Newspapers.com}} In the 1940s, after several fires damaged buildings on the campus of the facility,{{Cite news|last=Earl|first=Phillip I.|date=1997-02-25|title=Early Bath Houses at Steamboat Springs|pages=20|work=Elko Daily Free Press|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/53497080/early-bath-houses-at-steamboat/|access-date=2020-06-15|via=Newspapers.com}} she worked with architect Paul Revere Williams on a plan for the expansion and modernization of the resort, but that vision was never realized.{{Cite web|title=Steamboat Hot Springs - Nevada|url=https://www.paulrwilliamsproject.org/gallery/steamboat-springs-nevada-rehabilitation-center/|access-date=2020-06-15|website=Paul Revere Williams, American Architect}}
Away from Steamboat Springs, Carver was a frequent speaker and leader at the Unity Center church in Reno.{{Cite news|date=1933-09-02|title=Churches|pages=6|work=Reno Gazette-Journal|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/53500165/churches/|access-date=2020-06-15|via=Newspapers.com}} She also took an active interest in education, and served as president of the Reno school board in the 1930s.{{Cite news|date=1936-06-08|title=Brown's School Exercises Held|pages=8|work=Reno Gazette-Journal|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/53497774/browns-school-exercises-held/|access-date=2020-06-15|via=Newspapers.com}} In 1933 she attended a national social science convention in Detroit.{{Cite news|date=1933-07-29|title=Dr. Carver to Talk at Unity Center|pages=12|work=Nevada State Journal|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/53498165/dr-carver-to-talk-at-unity-center/|access-date=2020-06-15|via=Newspapers.com}} In 1934 she spoke about polio at a parent-teacher meeting in Sparks.{{Cite news|date=1934-05-29|title=Physician Speaks at P. T. A. Meeting|pages=10|work=Reno Gazette-Journal|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/53498547/physician-speaks-at-p-t-a-meeting/|access-date=2020-06-15|via=Newspapers.com}} In 1936, she helped to treat injured fellow passengers when their train encountered an avalanche.{{Cite news|date=1936-01-16|title=Thirteen Injured in Avalanche at Donner Summit|pages=1|work=Reno Gazette-Journal|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/53530842/thirteen-injured-in-avalanche-at-donner/|access-date=2020-06-16|via=Newspapers.com}}
Personal life
Edna Jackson married English-born Edward Towne; they had a son, Dural Edward Towne (1899-1960).{{Cite news|date=1954-07-30|title=Dr. Edna Carver Estate Valued At $198,284.62|pages=9|work=Nevada State Journal|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/53496925/dr-edna-carver-estate-valued-at/|access-date=2020-06-15|via=Newspapers.com}} She lived for many years with Blanch Foltz, who died in 1953.{{Cite news|date=1953-12-22|title=Blanche Foltz Rites Scheduled|pages=11|work=Reno Gazette-Journal|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/53498817/blanche-foltz-rites-scheduled/|access-date=2020-06-15|via=Newspapers.com}} Edna Carver died in 1954, in Steamboat Springs, and left the springs property to her son.{{Cite news|date=1954-07-10|title=Oregonians Own Steamboat Springs|pages=14|work=Nevada State Journal|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/53487078/oregonians-own-steamboat-springs/|access-date=2020-06-15|via=Newspapers.com}}{{Cite news|date=1954-07-08|title=Edna J. Carver Estate on File|pages=2|work=Reno Gazette-Journal|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/53531932/edna-j-carver-estate-on-file/|access-date=2020-06-16|via=Newspapers.com}} Her daughter-in-law Dorothy A. Towne, a nurse, ran the spa from 1962 until 1986, when she donated it to a local church.{{Cite news|date=2003-03-02|title=Dorothy A. Towne|pages=26|work=Reno Gazette-Journal|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/53498292/dorothy-a-towne/|access-date=2020-06-15|via=Newspapers.com}} The Steamboat Hot Springs are still open, as "the longest standing therapeutic hot springs in the state of Nevada."{{Cite web|title=Steamboat Hot Springs Healing Center & Spa|url=https://travelnevada.com/discover/42244/steamboat-hot-springs-healing-center-spa|access-date=2020-06-15|website=Travel Nevada|language=en}}
References
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External links
- {{Find a Grave|id=100856145|name=}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Carver, Edna Jackson}}
Category:American women physicians