Charles E. Holzer, Sr., M.D.

Charles Elmer Holzer came to Gallipolis in 1909 as a resident surgeon at the Ohio Hospital for Epileptics. Recognizing the need for a community hospital, he returned in May 1910 after completing his training and, with a local loan, opened a seven-bed hospital. In 1913 he furthered his training in surgery, closing the hospital temporarily to study in Europe, then returned to Gallipolis in 1914, married nurse Alma Vomholt, and resumed his practice. In 1916 he began construction on the First Avenue Holzer Hospital, the first general hospital in southeast Ohio. In 1949 the Holzers gave the growing hospital to the citizens of the five county area to be administered by the Holzer Hospital Foundation. After outgrowing its downtown location, Holzer Medical Center opened on Jackson Pike in 1972 with 269 beds. Holzer was also a visionary community builder and philanthropist involved in education, conservation, flood control, and transportation, serving on boards throughout the state and nation. He volunteered as a surgeon in World War I; with his wife, opened the first school of nursing in 1920; organized construction of the Silver Bridge in 1928, joining the capitals of Ohio and West Virginia; purchased land for an airport; and initiated the first air ambulance service in the state. The Holzers also purchased and restored the 1819 tavern Our House and gave it to the State of Ohio in 1944. The Holzer family lived at 530 First Avenue, an 1855 Greek Revival structure, from 1918 until their deaths.

Gallipolis, Ohio · United States