In 1893, Dr. Frank Chappell (1846-1927) arrives in Granite Falls and sets up the first medical practice. A smallpox epidemic in Snohomish County logging camps exposes a pressing need for doctors. He will go on to become an important member of the pioneer community, contributing not only a longterm medical practice, a pharmacy, a hardware store, and a shingle mill. He will also be known for his collections of poetry.
Early Years
Dr. Frank Chappell was born in Lockwood, New York, in 1846, the son of an educator. At an early age, his family moved to Michigan where they lived in several different towns including Ottoway, Michigan. After graduating from public school, he presumably attended college (it is not known where), and graduated from University of Michigan’s Medical School in 1881. (In the 1880s a bachelor’s degree was required for admission.)
Chappell’s medical degree is quite exceptional. The Medical School at the time was one of the most innovative in the country, owning its hospital and teaching its students a curriculum based on a science model. “The eagerness of the Medical School to refine its curriculum propagated advances in instruction, scientific inquiry and public health. [The Medical School] grounded its teachings in basic science and created an intimate working nexus between physicians and researchers” (Hwang). It was groundbreaking in its student body too. In 1870, the first woman was accepted into the program. An African American, the son of a slave, joined not long after.
Around the time of his graduation, Chappell married Sophie Gray, a school teacher. For several years, Dr. Chappell practiced in Michigan towns such as Nunica, Sand Lake, and Grand Rapids and started a family. Then in 1893, he emigrated to Washington arriving in Snohomish County during a serious smallpox outbreak in the logging camps. He set up his new practice in Granite Falls, working out of a small building. He was the only doctor in area for many miles.
Doctor and Pharmacist
An enterprising man, Chappell opened the first drug store in Granite Falls. “My grandfather had an acute sense of taste,” said Charlotte Chappell Petty, his granddaughter (Petty, February 14, 2008). “He had the ability to taste drugs and mixed his own prescriptions.” He built a wood structure on the northwest corner of Granite Avenue and Pioneer Street in the town. It housed his drugstore, doctor’s office, and a hardware store, the first in the town. The Masons rented a room at the back on the building on the second floor.
Charlotte Petty remembers the drugstore well. She was born upstairs in the doctor’s apartment. A customer would walk into drugstore and immediately a metal bar under the door knob would fall to floor alerting the family that someone was there. The drugstore had shelves for various items including candy and sundries. Prescriptions were picked up at the counter. Straight back there was a pot belly stove and chairs where “little old ladies” form the town gathered. Chappell’s medical office was there. His wife Josephine and later their daughter-in-law assisted.
Initially, Dr. Chappell saw patients with a horse and buggy, but eventually he bought a automobile. The first time he drove it, which was also the last time, the car went through the garage door.
Civic Service and Poetry
In addition to the drug and hardware store, Chappell went into logging and millwork. The Chappell Shingle Mill made shingles from logs taken from his 1,500 acres of timber land, employing dozens of men. The doctor was president and Sophie was his secretary. A nephew, Burt Chappell, was apparently a partner. Frank and Sophie also owned a 750-acre ranch.
Chappell was also active in the community. After Granite Falls was incorporated in 1903, he became the city’s first treasurer. He also served on the school board and as a health officer. Chappell was also known as a poet and published several poems over the years. In December of 1925, the Granite Falls Records published Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, a collection of holiday poems.
Life and Death
Despite these successes, there was sorrow in his life. The Chappells had three children, but two of them died early. One of them, Charlotte Elisabeth, along with their grandchild, drowned on a ship that sank between Alaska and Seattle. Their only surviving offspring, Peter, married and had two daughters.
In 1927 Chappell died peacefully in his sleep at the age of 81. His coffin was displayed open in the drugstore for a couple of days with chrysanthemums all around. After he was buried, his wife and daughter-in-law, Gussie Chappell, continued the practice and filled out prescriptions as there was no doctor in the immediate area.
Today, medical office implements and furniture of the type Dr. Chappell would have used (from Washington of that period though not from his particular office) can be seen at the Granite Falls Museum.
