On September 1, 1912, the first Samoan Hospital was completed at Malaloa. The hospital was constructed on a hillside next to the current location of
Sadie Thompson Inn. The hospital included a wooden central administration building which contained an examination room, lavatory, dispensary, and dressing room. Outbuildings were erected for a kitchen, baths, a storeroom, and
latrine. A windmill was built near the shore to pump water to a tank located above the level of the main building. With the completion of the 1912 Malaloa hospital, a major step had been taken to improve overall health on American Samoa. While the
U.S. Navy approved the hospital project, it clarified that funds from the
U.S. Treasury Department could not be utilized for construction. A Samoan fund was created to finance the cost of construction. On February 14, 1914, a nurses' training program was inaugurated at the hospital in Malaloa. The program quickly gained popularity, with young girls across the territory being encouraged to pursue careers in nursing. Early pioneers of the facility included Initia Nemaia, Pepe Malemo, and Feiloa’iga Iosefa.
W. Somerset Maugham resided at the
Sadie Thompson Inn in Malaloa during his six-week visit to American Samoa in 1916. The building later became the setting of his short story “
Rain”, which was published in 1921. At the time when Maugham visited in 1916, Malaloa had a small dock which was used by lighters to carry goods. Passengers boarded ships on the main wharf. The Sadie Thompson Inn building was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 2003. In 1946, American Samoa's first high school was established at Malaloa, which used to be the site of the first hospital. The school was known as the
High School of American Samoa. ==References==