Dorothea Dix was born on the frontier of Maine, which was part of Massachusetts at the time. Because of her unhappy childhood at age 12 she left home to go and live with her relatives in Boston. She opened her first school in 1816 at a very young age of only 14 years. She would often meet with reformers trying to improve the conditions of the mentally ill. After working many times with reformers she opened her first hospital later in 1856, called the Dorothea Dix Hospital, it was the state mental hospital of North Carolina. The hospital was located on Dix Hill. During the civil war Dix grounds were used by northern troops to camp out on.

When Dorothea was older at age 59, she volunteered her services to the union. She received an appointment and was then placed in charge of women nurses in army hospitals. She became the Union superintendent of female nurses during the civil war. She provided her services for no pay. She came up with a dress code for the nurses which consisted of modest black or brown shirts and wearing jewelry or hoops was forbidden. Her recruits called Dorothea "Dragon Dix". After the war ended Dorothea went back to improving the conditions for those who were mentally ill. Dorothea, along with Clara Barton, another nurse, was a leader of a natural effort to organize nursing corps to care for war’s wounded and sick. Dorothea lead a full and interesting life of helping others and should always be remembered for that.

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