In October 1921, former Mayor John Smith bequeathed several thousand dollars, being the better part of his estate, towards the construction of a Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital. The first major First World War memorial to be erected in Tillsonburg was this small two-story hospital in July 1925.

Over the years, additions and extensions were added. In 1950, its name changed to Tillsonburg District Memorial Hospital, as a memorial to not only the men and women of the First World War, but also to those from Second World War from Tillsonburg and surrounding area.