Dr. Charles Woodward Gaylord
Born in 1846 on a farm in Wallingford, Dr. Charles Woodward Gaylord came to Branford in 1872 shortly after graduating from Yale University with a medical degree. For the next forty-six years he was dedicated to improving the quality of life for all Branford citizens. In 1878 he purchased the site of the former Methodist Church (two doors down from Church Street on South Main Street) and turned it into a lyceum and opera house, which for the following eighteen years was the cultural center of the town. With the opening of the Blackstone Library, the need for his facility decreased; and in 1896 it was turned into offices for his practice. Dr. Gaylord's private practice required numerous house calls and more than thirty hours of office visits per week. (His office was open seven days a week!)
On top of all these duties, he was still able to find time for the general health and well-being of the community at large and served as medical examiner for both Branford and North Branford. As the Acting School Visitor from 1884 until 1894, he was responsible for annual reviews on the status, direction, and growth of the schools in town. Around this time he was also a member of the Blackstone Library Board of Directors and the head of the building committee for the new high school on Laurel Street. In 1884, Dr. Gaylord became a member of the Branford Board of Education, and from 1901 to 1908 he held the dual roles of Chairman of the Board of Education and the town's Health Officer. Whatever hat he was wearing at the moment, he saw that educating the entire child was paramount to ensure Branford's future growth and prosperity.
Although Dr. Gaylord's formal association with education ended in 1908, in a very real sense it continued until his death in 1918 in his continuing capacity as Health Officer. Dr. Gaylord labored tirelessly in trying to bring about sanitary conditions to the schools and throughout the town. Some of his responsibilities as Health Officer included drainage of swamps to eradicate mosquito breeding grounds; ensuring the cleanliness of pig farms; inspecting the quality of the town's milk supply; guaranteeing that clean safe ice was harvested by the several suppliers in town; quarantining the sick; vaccinating the youth; inspecting the cleanliness of all the town's schools and public buildings; attending local, regional and state board meetings; citing property owners for unsanitary and unsafe grounds; and educating the townspeople on proper health procedures, all this while continuing to maintain his private practice!
Dr. Gaylord also found time to write health regulations requiring vaccinations for all school children. When he realized that he could not personally spend the time needed to educate the townspeople about hygiene and other healthful practices, in 1910 he formed the Visiting Nurse Association. Furthermore, he, along with Herman Lovejoy, then Branford's Superintendent of Schools, was responsible for having indoor toilets installed throughout the school system in 1914-1915. His vision of cleaning up the mosquito breeding grounds on Meadow Street and providing a safe park for children finally became a reality in what we now know as Hammer Field.
Dr. Gaylord belonged to several medical associations in order to promote good hygiene throughout the area. He was affiliated with the New Haven County Anti-Mosquito Association, the Connecticut Medical Association, and the American Medical Association. He helped establish, along with other members of the New Haven County Anti-Tuberculosis Association, the Gaylord Farms Sanatorium (now known as Gaylord Hospital) on the site of the family's farm in Wallingford, Connecticut. He was vice president of the hospital for many years.
On top of all these duties, he was still able to find time for the general health and well-being of the community at large and served as medical examiner for both Branford and North Branford. As the Acting School Visitor from 1884 until 1894, he was responsible for annual reviews on the status, direction, and growth of the schools in town. Around this time he was also a member of the Blackstone Library Board of Directors and the head of the building committee for the new high school on Laurel Street. In 1884, Dr. Gaylord became a member of the Branford Board of Education, and from 1901 to 1908 he held the dual roles of Chairman of the Board of Education and the town's Health Officer. Whatever hat he was wearing at the moment, he saw that educating the entire child was paramount to ensure Branford's future growth and prosperity.
Although Dr. Gaylord's formal association with education ended in 1908, in a very real sense it continued until his death in 1918 in his continuing capacity as Health Officer. Dr. Gaylord labored tirelessly in trying to bring about sanitary conditions to the schools and throughout the town. Some of his responsibilities as Health Officer included drainage of swamps to eradicate mosquito breeding grounds; ensuring the cleanliness of pig farms; inspecting the quality of the town's milk supply; guaranteeing that clean safe ice was harvested by the several suppliers in town; quarantining the sick; vaccinating the youth; inspecting the cleanliness of all the town's schools and public buildings; attending local, regional and state board meetings; citing property owners for unsanitary and unsafe grounds; and educating the townspeople on proper health procedures, all this while continuing to maintain his private practice!
Dr. Gaylord also found time to write health regulations requiring vaccinations for all school children. When he realized that he could not personally spend the time needed to educate the townspeople about hygiene and other healthful practices, in 1910 he formed the Visiting Nurse Association. Furthermore, he, along with Herman Lovejoy, then Branford's Superintendent of Schools, was responsible for having indoor toilets installed throughout the school system in 1914-1915. His vision of cleaning up the mosquito breeding grounds on Meadow Street and providing a safe park for children finally became a reality in what we now know as Hammer Field.
Dr. Gaylord belonged to several medical associations in order to promote good hygiene throughout the area. He was affiliated with the New Haven County Anti-Mosquito Association, the Connecticut Medical Association, and the American Medical Association. He helped establish, along with other members of the New Haven County Anti-Tuberculosis Association, the Gaylord Farms Sanatorium (now known as Gaylord Hospital) on the site of the family's farm in Wallingford, Connecticut. He was vice president of the hospital for many years.