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Founder, Amos Giles Rhodes
The history of the A. G. Rhodes Homes now spans a century dating back to 1900. The founder, Amos Giles Rhodes, was born in 1850 in Henderson, Kentucky. In 1875 he came to Atlanta while laying crossties for the L & N Railroad, and one year later in 1876, married Amanda Dougherty. In 1879, living in the space above his small store, he began the furniture company that would make him a very successful, affluent, businessman and pillar of the community. He is credited with being the originator of the installment plan for purchasing furniture. A. G. Rhodes died in 1928, leaving a substantial endowment to the Home for Incurables.
History of A.G. Rhodes Homes
The Hospital of the Atlanta Circle of the King’s Daughters and Sons, which was incorporated as a benevolent association on November 20, 1900, under a charter granted by the Fulton County Superior Court of the state of Georgia, was designated as a hospital for patients suffering from incurable diseases. Patients were housed in a wooden building located at 42 Church Street (now Carnegie Way) in Atlanta. The building was in terrible disrepair, and Hospital officials approached Mr. Rhodes requesting that he fund roofing repairs.
Instead, A. G. Rhodes provided the land and funds needed for a new building. In 1904, the new building provided by A. G. Rhodes was completed at the corner of Boulevard and Woodward Avenue; and all patients were moved on July 11, 1904. The main building was a two-story, colonial style, brick and masonry structure that housed patients on both floors. In December of 1911, the name of the institution was changed to The Home for Incurables Association.
In March 1932, the facility was reincorporated, renamed the A. G. Rhodes Home for Incurables and renewed its charter for a period of 35 years, as a non-profit corporation without capital stock.
On May 28, 1946, A. G. Rhodes Home for Incurables became The A. G. Rhodes Home, Inc. Recognizing the need for nursing home care for a middle income group which could neither qualify for welfare nor afford to pay for private care, the Board of Trustees authorized the addition of a 38-bed wing in 1960. This was to be operated in conjunction with the existing home on a self-sustaining basis. Construction was completed in October 1961.
In 1971, the Jesse Parker Williams Foundation signed an agreement with A. G. Rhodes Home, Incorporated to lease the 35-bed Garden Wing for a period of 50 years. Terms of the agreement called for an immediate grant of $500,000 and an annual review in order for the Foundation to continue providing sufficient funding. These funds are designated to care for women who are in need of financial aid.
This agreement enabled the Rhodes Home to begin new construction in order to fulfill the ever-growing needs of the community. In 1974, part of the original building was demolished with the new construction replacing the 53 bed area with a new area for 92 beds. This brought the total patient capacity to 128. With the need still growing for nursing home care, in 1981, the nurses’ quarters were converted to private rooms raising the bed count to 138.
Today our downtown facility remains The A. G. Rhodes Home, Inc., with 138 beds. In April 1992, the second Rhodes’ Home opened in Marietta, Georgia and was incorporated as The A. G. Rhodes Home – Cobb, Inc., with a total of 130 beds. As the need for nursing home care continued to grow, a third home with 150 beds was opened in September 1997 at the Emory – Wesley Woods Campus and was incorporated The A. G. Rhodes Home at Wesley Woods, Inc.
The Rhodes Home at Boulevard is one of the oldest charter members of the United Way. As non-profit homes, we are grateful for the grants awarded by United Way, and such Foundations as the Jesse Parker Williams Foundation, The Lettie Pate Whitehead Foundation, Joseph B. Whitehead Foundation, Shallenberger Foundation, and the Frasier-Parker Foundation, the J. D. Rhodes Trust, the Albert N. Parker Trust and others. Along with the Foundation Grants, private donations and memorial donations also help make it possible for the Rhodes Homes to continue Amos Giles Rhodes’ wonderful gift of providing care to patients regardless of their ability to pay.
Serving the elderly of the Metro Atlanta area since 1897, the original A.G. Rhodes Home was one of the first three nursing home organizations to be licensed in the state of Georgia. The Rhodes Homes are three of the very few not-for profit nursing home facilities operating in Georgia. Each Rhodes Home offers long-term care while also providing short-term rehabilitation on our sub-acute Medicare Units. A.G. Rhodes Home at Wesley Woods is equipped with special architectural features on the second floor enabling staff to care for residents suffering with Alzheimer’s disease.
We are proud to be caring people, caring for people.
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