1890
In May 1890, four members of the Hospital Sisters of St. Francis arrived in Sheboygan. Father Strickner, a retired priest, made his home on the corner of Ninth Street and Superior Avenue available to them. This house became the first Hospital. The hospital was named in honor of the patron saint and St. Nicholas pastor of Holy Name Church, Reverend Nicholas Thill, who gave the Sisters counseling, encouragement and help in planning the first Hospital.
It was this small beginning, coupled with the dedication and constancy of the Sisters in the health field, that helped make St. Nicholas the hospital it is today.
On May 16, 1890, just one week after their arrival, the Sisters admitted their first patient to the hospital. He remained there 81 days. The total cost of this stay was $66.50!
During its first five years, the hospital admitted 30 patients and the Sisters made hundreds of visits to patients in their homes. Day and night, they cared for the sick and injured, rich and poor, Catholic and non-Catholic.