Dr. Thomas Townsend, 1787-1851

 

Dr. Thomas Townsend was born near Uniontown, Pennsylvania about the year 1787.  He is most well known as being the pioneer physician in Wooster, Ohio. Arriving in Wooster in 1810-1811, he stayed for 25-30 years until he moved to Wheeling. Various sources report that he never went to formal school to learn medicine. Where he received his medical training is unknown.  His specialty was botany, and he became quite adept in that interest as well as general natural sciences. 

 

In Wheeling, a rumor spread of his being “of unsound mind” because he would often be spotted roaming the hills around Wheeling, gathering bits of plants and rocks in his hat to take home for his collections. His collections of botanic and geologic specimens were unrivaled in this area. He published an account of the discovery of the “Grave Creek Stone,” a find within the Grave Creek Mound in Moundsville, in 1839, and an article entitled “On the Impropriety of Mercurial Salivation” in the Western Journal of Medicine and Surgery in 1842. 

 

Though it appeared he was more memorable for his behaviors and hobbies outside his medical profession, he had reportedly accomplished some remarkable bone surgeries. He also served several terms as both President and Treasurer of the Ohio County Medical Society.

The later years were not profitable for Dr. Townsend, but he had many friends who took care of him.  He died of pneumonia on March 29, 1851 at the age of 64. He was buried in Mt. Woods Cemetery, and for several years his grave went unmarked until the Medical Society of Wheeling, at the urging of Dr. J.C. Hupp, arranged for a memorial stone to be placed in 1873.