As families arrived in the Dakota Territory during the frontier days, it is fair to assume that the woman’s role, at least when defined by their husbands, was to take care of the children, and to cook and clean, and while they often did all of that, in reality they were needed for far more–and they were up for the challenge. It was often the women who noticed a need for prayer and worship and schooling for the youngsters. By filling those needs they created a greater sense of community–something that was vital to the success of any young frontier town.

Similarly, when the Benedictine Sisters arrived in the Dakota Territory in 1878, they responded to the needs of what was then known as Edwinton, the community we know today as Bismarck. First, they educated the children, and later cared for the sick. One can imagine their care was needed and appreciated, because in 1885, the Sisters were asked to open the first hospital in the Dakota Territory, and with the help of Abbot Alexius Edelbrock, the Benedictine Sisters purchased the former Lamborn Hotel from Alexander McKenzie and Robert Mellon to do exactly that. At a cost of $30,000, it was no small sum of money at that time. After some remodeling done by the nuns themselves, they opened the hospital that same year. Despite no formal medical training, the Benedictine Sisters treated 65 patients within the hospital’s first year at a standard charge of one dollar per day.

Originally, it operated as the Lamborn Hospital before adopting the Saint Alexius moniker in 1887. Water had to be transported by hand from the mighty Missouri River. The hospital grew and completed its oldest section of the current facility in 1915–it served the residents of the region with 125 beds and employed eighteen surgeons and physicians. But what do you think were the common ailments of the era? Well, Edwinton was a rough and tough community at the time and the trips to the hospital consisted of injuries from brawls, stabbings, and drunkenness. Horse accidents were also common, along with deadly diseases. President Theodore Roosevelt, and Medora de Vallombrosa Marquise de Mores were noted patients of the frontier hospital, and Sitting Bull’s son was even cared for at the hospital after having served a stint in the town jail, where his health deteriorated.

Saint Alexius thrived under the direction of Sister Boniface, who took the head position in 1892. She was a key figure in transforming the hospital from a primitive frontier hospital to a modern facility with steam heat that replaced coal stoves. She even had telephones installed and replaced the hand bells with electronic call bells. She administered St. Alexius until retiring in 1937–the same year of her death. A four-story nursing school was built east of the hospital in 1925 and appropriately named Boniface Hall. While that program was phased out, she is still honored today with one of the first buildings erected at the University of Mary campus in South Bismarck, called Boniface Hall.

Though its original style is obscured, you can still see parts of the original brick building when standing on the south side of the hospital. St. Alexius Health continues the mission of the Benedictine Sisters to care for the sick, and they focus their commitment to St. Alexius today in ways that “invite those who work with them to bear witness to Gospel values through deeds of loving service.”