Nearly 90 years after Baldwin County's first hospital opened its doors, the Holmes Medical Museum is planning a celebration to honor the hundreds of babies born in Foley's original medical facility.

The event, set for Sunday, April 27, from 2 to 4 p.m., will take place at the museum in downtown Foley, where visitors can step back in time to the building that once served as the area's only hospital.

Between 1936 and 1958, about 200 babies were delivered in the small hospital run by Dr. William C. "Buddy" Holmes and his wife, Philomene, a nurse. Housed on the second floor of a corner building at the intersection of what is now Alabama 59 and U.S. 98, the hospital served as the primary medical center for Foley and surrounding communities in South Baldwin County.

The Holmes's and their colleagues also helped deliver about 100 additional babies in area homes during that time.

Now preserved as the Holmes Medical Museum, the former hospital has been restored to resemble its original appearance, offering visitors a glimpse into the early days of rural Alabama medicine. The building also includes the restored office of Dr. Sibley Holmes, one of Foley's first physicians and an early mayor of the town. He was also the father of Dr. Buddy Holmes.

As part of the celebration, museum supporters are inviting all "Holmes Babies" — individuals born at the hospital or delivered by the Holmes' in local homes — along with their descendants, to visit the museum and share their stories. Organizers hope to compile a database of those births and are asking for help locating families connected to the hospital's legacy.

The museum, located at 111 W. Laurel Ave., is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Anyone with information about a Holmes Baby is encouraged to call the museum at (251) 970-1818.