131 S. Columbia St. / Infirmary (third) / Abernethy Hall

Built in the summer of 1907, this third infirmary on the UNC campus was authorized by the State legislature the previous year. The two-story structure was built of "gray pressed brick" at a cost of $21,000. The architect was Frank P. Milburn and the contractor/builder was Norman Underwood. John Squires was the foreman, and Jack Sparrow and John Johnson were brickmasons on the project. Besides the main patient room (capable of housing 20 patients), there was a kitchen, operating room, and UNC's physician's office.

Drs. Charles S. Mangum, Isaac H. Manning, and William DeBernier MacNider cared for patients on a rotating basis during the academic year; and Dr. Eric A. Abernethy treated summer school patients until he left to serve in World War One. In 1920, after Abernethy's return from the war, the Board of Trustees elected him the first university physician, placing him in sole charge of the infirmary; the desire for such a position arose from concern over the influenza epidemic of 1918-1919. In addition, the large number of North Carolinians rejected by the Draft Board had called attention to the inadequacies of local health care.