Edna Jackson Carver
American physician and spa owner (1868–1954)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Edna Jackson Carver (1868 – June 20, 1954) was an American physician, operator of a health spa at Steamboat Hot Springs, near Reno, Nevada, from 1919 to 1954.
1868
Edna Jackson Carver | |
|---|---|
Edna Jackson Carver, from a 1915 publication. | |
| Born | Edna Jackson 1868 Salina, Kansas, U.S. |
| Died | June 20, 1954 (aged 85–86) Steamboat, Nevada, U.S. |
| Education | Colorado College of Osteopathy |
| Occupation | Physician |
| Known for | Owner of Steamboat Hot Springs Spa |
| Spouse | Edward Towne |
| Children | 1 son, Dural Edward Towne |
| Parent(s) | William Edward Jackson, Amanda Davis |
| Relatives | Minnie Jackson Martin, Charles Francis Jackson |
Early life
Edna Jackson was born in Salina, Kansas and raised in Sheridan, Wyoming Territory, the daughter of William Edward Jackson and Amanda Davis Jackson. She was a member of the first graduating class of the Wyoming Collegiate Institute that once stood in Big Horn, Wyoming.
She graduated from the Colorado College of Osteopathy in 1905.[1] She was a charter member of the Sheridan chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star.[2]
Career
Carver had an osteopathic practice in Denver, and invested in land there. She also practiced in New York City for six years.[1] In 1913, she spoke at the International Congress of Farm Women in Tulsa, on the subject "Keeping the Right Mental Attitude", telling her audience, "It is a great thing to earn a living, but it is a greater thing to live a life."[3] She was the physician and head chaperone on a film company's publicity train trip in 1915, called the "American Beauty Special"; it ran from Chicago to Los Angeles, filled with beauty contest winners hoping for a screen test in Hollywood.[4][5]
Carver became the owner of Steamboat Hot Springs in 1918. She rebuilt the lodgings and bathing facilities, and opened it as a health spa in 1919.[6] She drilled deep wells to access additional springs, and welcomed athletes and racehorses for rehabilitation.[7] In the 1940s, after several fires damaged buildings on the campus of the facility,[8] she worked with architect Paul Revere Williams on a plan for the expansion and modernization of the resort, but that vision was never realized.[9]
Away from Steamboat Springs, Carver was a frequent speaker and leader at the Unity Center church in Reno.[10] She also took an active interest in education, and served as president of the Reno school board in the 1930s.[11] In 1933 she attended a national social science convention in Detroit.[12] In 1934 she spoke about polio at a parent-teacher meeting in Sparks.[13] In 1936, she helped to treat injured fellow passengers when their train encountered an avalanche.[14]
Personal life
Edna Jackson married English-born Edward Towne; they had a son, Dural Edward Towne (1899-1960).[15] She lived for many years with Blanch Foltz, who died in 1953.[16] Edna Carver died in 1954, in Steamboat Springs,[1] and left the springs property to her son.[17][18] Her daughter-in-law Dorothy A. Towne, a nurse, ran the spa from 1962 until 1986, when she donated it to a local church.[19] The Steamboat Hot Springs are still open, as "the longest standing therapeutic hot springs in the state of Nevada."[20]
