There are certainly more knowledgeable people than I who can speak to the history of the Maryland Tuberculosis Sanatorium. I am not one of those people, but have merely found information about MTS as I have researched my family history. This page is not meant to be a complete guide, by any means, but merely a stepping stone to help people find more information on the MTS.
Last week I visited the mountain top where the Maryland (State) Tuberculosis Sanatorium operated in the early 1900s. My great grandmother, Italy (Bond) Grimes was a patient there in 1919 and 1920, for over 6 months. After her youngest son (my grandfather) passed away I inherited her photo album with many pictures from her time there. The hospital was in Sabillasville, Frederick County, Maryland. It is south of the Pennsylvanian border and close to a popular tourist stop (of the time) Pen Mar, PA. I learned that patients who arrived by Western Maryland Railroad were taken by carriage to the hospital grounds. Having now visited the grounds, I imagine that would have been a beautiful carriage ride indeed. The hospital has not operated as a hospital for many years now. There are a few surviving buildings from the hospital. When I saw them last week they were in grave disrepair- even though they are historical trust buildings. They are abandoned, have been vandalized and are falling apart. Among the buildings left standing were the administration building, the laboratory, the old superintendent's building and the power house (which is privately owned- do not trespass on their property). Many lives were saved because of this hospital, the first of it's kind in the state of Maryland. The residents called themselves "Lungers". They were told that the fresh mountain air would help their lungs and to get exercise outside (if they were able). Their 'treatments' included sleeping out of doors, even in the winter time. They called this "taking the cure". I have pictures of the beds they rolled out onto the wooden decks with piles of blankets on them. Currently, I do not know of any surviving hospital records. I have seen administrative books on the Maryland State Archives website which identified budgets, patient restrictions (only white Maryland residents were allowed), etc. I talked to the head of the Maryland State Archives Reference Department, they do not have patient records for this facility. I have, however, come across different Tuberculosis hospitals in Maryland that did have their records stored at the State Archives, though. So I won't say definitively that there aren't any records- I just haven't found them yet, or found the right search term. I learned that my Great Grandmother was a patient at this facility when I found her in the 1920 census record in Sabillasville, MD. It listed MANY other patients (pages of them) as well as staff and doctors. I would search the census records for Sabillasville, or Haughs, Maryland if you are trying to find a particular person who may have stayed there. Also- the Maryland Room in the Franklin County Public Library has a vertical file on the history of the Maryland Tuberculosis Sanatorium. The ladies there were very helpful. They possess 2 thin books on the Sanatorium. I spent a very lovely day in Sabillasville, chatting with a woman who will write a book on the facility. Once her book is written and published I am certain it will be the best resource on the hospital and it's history that there is.
55 Comments
|