Dr. James Whitehead (1906-2004), a graduate of Lake City H.S. and the Medical University of S.C., returned to Lake City after completing his internship at Spartanburg General and practiced medicine there for 55 years. In 1938 he oversaw construction of a two-story, 14-bed obstetric hospital that quickly became the town’s primary acute care facility because few other local options for professional medical care existed. It was established during a period when childbirth was increasingly moving outside the home, and by 1950, when most U.S. births took place in hospitals, it was part of that shift in medical practice. In addition to obstetrics, Dr. Whitehead performed general surgery and treated many victims of traumatic injuries. The infirmary closed in 1959, but he continued to maintain a clinic there until his retirement in 1986.