Chatman Hospital (now Chatman Community Health Center) was opened in 1945 by Dr. Joseph Alvin Chatman. For many years, it was the only medical facility in this segregated city for African Americans. Among his contributions to the community, Dr. Chatman spoke in local churches, participated in politics and served on the board of Texas Southern University and the Lone Star State Medical Society. The two-story cast stone building, designed by architect Louis Fry, suffered a major fire in 1987, but was restored in 1993 and re-opened in 1994.