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
3/28/2018 07:49:34 am
Thanks for this information. It was helpful. I have a forebear named Mildred G. Crane who I believe was at the Sanatorium in 1920 (page 8 of the 1920 Census). I sure wish there was a way to find out more about her (don't know what happened to her parents--she was raised in upstate New York by her grandparents). And there's a picture of her in our family photo books.
Reply
Stacey
3/30/2018 01:59:52 am
Thank you for leaving a comment, Gregg! I am glad it helped! Inspired by your comment I am going to compose a follow up post to this one. My great grandmother's first hand account of what it was like to be "Chasing the Cure" (a letter published in the Union Bridge, MD newspaper The Pilot). I will freely admit, when I came across this account, I cried. I hope you enjoy it and although it won't tell you more about what happened to your forebear- I hope it gives you a sense of what it was like to be a patient on the mountain.
Reply
3/23/2020 05:52:42 pm
A genealogist with better access to records and newspapers has solved this mystery. It was indeed my cousin who showed up at the sanitarium in 1920. She got married a few months later, but died that summer. Here's the most recent and reliable story of her life: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/207108493/mildred-g_-lamar
Erin Dingle
10/4/2021 06:28:13 am
Hello Gregg: I have a copy of an article from the Frederick News Post dated 4/26/1920 with the headline:
Nancy
6/5/2018 02:22:19 pm
This is great information. There is an author who compiled information information on the center. They used to be sold in a small gift shop at Ft. Ritchie. It was only open during events. Heres a link. http://thefrcc.org . I'm thnking they may update the calendar with seasonal things as they get scheduled. I believe they have something around the 4th of July.
Reply
Alisa Burkett
9/16/2018 01:40:51 pm
Please let me know when the book is published. My grandfather was a patient there, he passed in 1944. I could not imagine what there when throw, being all alone, my mom said they were not allowed to visit him, all they could do was write letters.
Reply
Barry Maguire
12/2/2018 05:26:05 am
I have a relative who was hospitalized there in the 1920s. After treatment she was cured and returned to her home in Calvert County. She lived into her late 80s.
Reply
Annette Schuerman
12/31/2018 09:39:31 am
I am looking for information about my great uncle who was a patient in a santitorium in the might to late 1940s His name was Clarence Curry. Thanks
Reply
Cathy
1/23/2019 04:37:26 pm
Has the book on the sanatorium been published as of 1.2019? My grandfather was a patient and his name was Milton Eugene Wolfe. Is that name in your records?
Reply
patti miller sharp
3/5/2019 08:11:34 am
my aunt and grandfather were here in the late 1940s or 1950. alma blanche henry and leslie l henry. my grandfather was there 4 mos. my nana made hospital gowns for him out of muslin cloth. I found the cloth and patterns cleaning out there house. my aunt was there longer. she had one half of one of her lungs removed. may have had antibiotics for it by then.she was slightly deformed from the surgery. my mom said she had probably picked it up helping nurses take care of soldiers coming back from overseas but i'm not sure.they both lived in Lonaconing md. she had been helping near Washington d c.
Reply
Crystal Powers
7/17/2022 08:19:21 pm
MY grandmother was here during 1950. She had her right lung removed and a portion of her left lower lung. I have pictures of my grandmother and a lot of others that Im not sure who they are my grandmother was from Arbutus area.
Reply
patti miller sharp
3/5/2019 08:23:29 am
I also have pictures of the grandfather and grandmother sitting outside probably before he was admitted.one picture was labeled on the back shack #5.the pictures of my aunt were just in her room with my mom and here parents.must have been a special area for non patients to be in.was a fairly nice room with her family pictures,calendar and some knick knacks in it. she was in regular pj's not a gown.
Reply
Alan Sinclair Colvin
3/8/2019 08:36:05 pm
My Mother's Aunt, Elizabeth Sinclair Greenhalgh, was a patient in mid 1930's. She passed in 1937. Her sister was my maternal grandmother. She died from TB as well in 1906 in Bedford, PA. Tragic stories all.
Reply
Barry S.
3/9/2019 04:46:21 pm
Would love to know more about the facility as I had a Great Aunt who died there on 1 July 1929 by the name of Marie L. Smith. Please let me know when you have finished your book! I will have interest in a copy for sure! Thanks for all! Barry
Reply
Linda Gerard
3/10/2019 05:47:40 pm
My great-grandfather, Edward Herman Mueller died of TB at his home in Baltimore in April 1930. He spent some time at Sabillasville. He was my paternal grandfather's, father.
Reply
Donna Hawkins
7/4/2019 06:36:28 am
I just found my GG Aunt was there in the 1920 census. I actually lived at Fort Ritchie from 1985 to 1989 and remember driving past this place.
Reply
Linda Gerard
7/6/2019 10:03:47 am
Most of the pictures I have from Sabillasville were men who were patients - the pictures of women were mostly nurses. A nurse named Miss Guy. Some of the male names were Geo Swieneinski, Miles, Schaffer, K Brown, Reel, Collins, Burk and Dembeck and of course, Frank LeRoy Cook. I have a picture of Shack 4 East, 5 Shack and the Administration Building, Dr. Cullen and some of the other doctors.
Reply
Angelo A Decrisantis
8/11/2019 03:55:34 am
Linda - I am looking for pictures and more information about my grandfather, Robert Pierce Celley. He died of TB at the sanatorium on 14 August 1947. His remains are buried at the Montague Cemetery in Fredrick, MD. Do you have a lot of photos of male patients and do they have names for identification purposes? Have you posted them somewhere for general access? Thanks very much.
Charles
5/9/2021 01:45:49 pm
My grandfather Russell J. Hudson Was treated there in 1922 before he passed away.
Ann Keating Wehner
9/22/2019 12:56:30 pm
So pleased to find the info posted here! Both my mother and her older sister were nurses at MTS, one graduated 1922, and my mother in 1924. Both were wonderful nurses and mothers....and I learned to believe that my mother was a “born nurse”! their family name was LeBrun or Lebrun, from Naugatuck and Waterbury CT. They were 2 of the 4 girls who as children survived the loss of 5 sisters and both parents to TB and similar catastrophic disease of that time. My mother used to have a yearbook of MTS in our attic, but it seemed to have been “lost” when my childhood home in Kingston NY was sold. I treasure now, even as I am 86, her engraved MTS nursing pin, and her 1924 MTS gold ring, I fear it is too late now for me to do, but their life stories, along with all details re TB epidemics, nursing care, etc. is material for a wonderful book. In recent years, I have tried to share by my ipad and facebook, my family photos and memories, etc.. for the few of my generation who live, and for their children, My father of Kingston NY served in WW1 Navy, met my mother when she was nursing in Kingston Sanatarium, My aunt also there met her husband to,be, and raised their families in Kingston area. My father , a reservist, was called to serve in WW2, and my mother witn 4 young children was at home. I would love to be on any E mailing list from any who have commented re MTS, espec during 1920-24! Thank you, and God bless, forever, all nurses who devoted their lives with enormous love to caring for all suffering such severe health challenges.
Reply
Donna Emery
1/2/2020 03:26:54 am
My mother and 2 aunts and 1 uncle were there in around 1949. My mom recently pasted this year in October. After going they her stuff I found an album and notes and pictures from a guy named Troy. My moms family are all
Reply
Jason King
1/22/2020 12:04:47 pm
I do wish there were some records to this hospital. My Grandmother Helen Kendall died here, 20 days after giving birth to my mother also at the sanatorium. My mother didn't know her mother or father, but was raised by her grandmother.
Reply
Kelly
6/23/2020 11:31:44 am
Thanks for posting about this. I was looking at my 3rd great grandfather's death certificate and it said that died at the age of 56 at the "State Sanatorium" in Frederick County of Tuberculosis and apoplexy. I was curious what this place was like. He was there for 27 days before he passed away. I imagine it was a last ditch effort to save his life. I hope it was peaceful.
Reply
Alta Smith
6/24/2020 03:43:20 pm
I have been searching for information on the Sabillsville, MD Tuberculosis Sanitarium. My grandfather went there in 1948. His name was Irvin Raap. He was there for several years from what I was told. I think he even worked in the pharmacy for a while just before he was released. He was a pharmacist who graduated from University of Maryland school of pharmacy in 1927 or 1928. I am saddened that there is no patient records that exist.
Reply
Robin Walter Boyd
10/11/2020 12:28:43 pm
I found this searching for records of my maternal grandfather who evidently died in such a TB sanitarium at a young age, when my mother was 3 years old. So far, I have not been able to find any sort of records of this relative.
Reply
Nancy Manahan
10/11/2020 04:24:14 pm
Unfornately there are no records of the actual patients, at least not that I know of. There is information of the facility if you dig around on the internet. It was in a small town, named Sabillasville.
Reply
Erin Dingle
3/28/2021 06:34:36 pm
Hello to everyone who has posted on this page and to Stacey whom I met several years back when she visited the grounds of the Sanatorium with me to honor her Gr. Grandmother Italy. I'm sorry I haven't seen these comments previously.
Reply
Anne Hatley
5/30/2021 06:55:06 am
I so enjoyed reading your post. My grandmother, Carrie D. Hall passed away while a patient there in the mid 20's. She was only 26 yrs old and left two small daughters - one being my mother. I have visited the san. and was disappointed that the caregiver could not let us inside due to asbestos. He did however, have beautiful photos that he was willing to let my brother and me view. Several were of the 'open air' hospital where my grandmother stayed. I would love to get any information you might be able to give me. Thank you so very much. Blessings to you.
Reply
Sharon Sexton
1/29/2023 04:22:29 pm
I am a local too. My Grandmother was a patient there from 1957-1958. She had a lung removed "in Baltimore" and then was transferred to Victor Cullen for a year to recuperate in the "fresh air". Ironically, in 1988 my husand and I bought a house on Naylor Rd in Sabillasville and our property backed up to Victor Cullen. We had to sign a waiver of some sort (I don't remember) because Victor Cullen had dumped oil on their property for decades, clearly before anyone knew of the consequences. All the houses on Naylor Rd are downhill from Victor Cullen. My husbands aunt worked there from 1988-1990, when it was used for the mentally handicapped. I don't know how long it was used for that before 1988, I never thought to ask her. I have lived in Thurmont now for 30 years, and just took a drive thru Victor Cullen yesterday for the first time in 30 years! It was so incredibly sad to see how the State has left the buildings to deteriorate and be vandalized!!! The workmanship in those stone buildings can not be rematched today, and the history within those buildings should be remembered with honor.
Reply
Erin Dingle
2/4/2023 06:16:12 pm
Wow Sharon. I never heard about the oil being dumped but it doesn't surprise me. That kind of thing must have happened all the time back in the day. Perhaps we've met - I was the librarian in Thurmont for 30+ years.
Nancy M Manahan
4/19/2021 01:54:32 pm
I too am from the area. If any one is interested in selling any postcards, pictures, maps or any type of memorabilia, please email.
Reply
Dorothy Spencer
8/25/2021 12:15:41 pm
I had a great great grandmother. Maryanne campbell who died of TB in 1903. Im trying to find out what sanatorium she was in. She left a 2 year old daughter and 5 year old daughter.and was.about 28 years old at time of death. Her death certificate lists her.former.house as last known.address but that cant be! Does anyone know where baltimore city.inner.harbor.area TB.patients were sent to. Thanks.
Reply
Nancy
8/25/2021 12:47:35 pm
There were several TB hospitals at the time. A.A. Patients were assigned to a different hospital then Caucasian.
Reply
Erin Dingle
10/4/2021 05:58:27 am
Hello Dorothy - IThat is a sad, tragic story. I'm so sorry. Sanatorium's did their best to save lives but often the disease had spread through the lungs to such a degree that nothing could be done in those very early years. The Maryland Sanatorium in Sabillasville was not yet built in 1903. It opened in 1908 for patients with an official grand opening celebration in May 1909. Perhaps she was a patient at Eudowood. When the Sabillasville Sanatorium was being debated by the Maryland Legislature, some wanted to spend money to expand Eudowwood while others thought a new, larger hospital was a better plan to help more people and that idea received the majority vote.
Reply
Lorraine Buddemeyer
10/1/2021 05:55:31 pm
James Sieracki born 1912 was my mother’s brother and was in a TB sanitarium as a child. It saddened my mother until she passed that the child was put away and no one ever visited. He died and his father was notified but they were poor with no money to give him a proper burial. No one ever knew what happened to his body. That’s what I’m searching. Where was he? Sanitarium? Burial site? When did he die? I tried going through death records on the MD Archives…no success.
Reply
Erin Dingle
10/4/2021 06:17:20 am
Hello Lorraine: I'm so sorry that your mom never knew what happened to her brother. That had to be difficult for her. James very possibly could have been sent to Sabillasville to the Maryland State Sanatorium. On Christmas Eve, 1913, an official Children's Hospital opened on the grounds and by all accounts I've read, it was a wonderful place to cure with loving nurses. Dr. Victor Cullen, longtime superintendent, made sure that there was schooling as well as playtime and crafts for kids. One local nurse I interviewed was actually a patient as a child and was so impressed with the nurses, she returned there as adult to train and become a nurse herself.
Reply
Lorraine Buddemeyer
10/4/2021 01:56:41 pm
Erin,
Angelo Decrisantis
6/27/2022 03:02:58 pm
Lorraine - I just read your inquiry posted from 10/1/21 so my reply may be outdated / old news / redundant. My apologies. Are you aware of the Potter's Field/Montevue Cemetery in Frederick, MD? This is where over 1260 unclaimed people or those from poor families were buried between 1832-1956 that includes hundreds from the Sabillasville Tuberculosis Sanatorium. Might your uncle be buried here? My grandfather was in the sanatorium and is buried in this mass grave because he died (in 1947) without his family being notified. In all fairness to Maryland officials, he chose not to be in contact with his immediate family for at least the last 20 years of his life so they had no family records. As a result, he was classified as an "indigent" when he died. The cemetery is a wide-open Potter's Field behind the Frederick County Health Department located at 350 Montevue Lane in Frederick, MD. There is a sole granite monument located to the north side of the field designating the mass grave site. Here is the link from the Frederick-News Post with a detailed story (and photo) about Montevue.
Reply
Erin Dingle
7/6/2022 10:56:31 am
I've completed a lot of research about the Sanatorium and this is news to me. Thank you so much for sharing. I will be making a field trip to Frederick.
Angelo Decrisantis
7/7/2022 10:52:09 am
Hello again Lorraine - I had some time to search for your uncle and have found some records. Last name spelling is an issue as SERACKI and SIERACKI are both used.
Reply
2/3/2023 07:56:19 pm
I've just found Dr.Victor Cullen's appointment to Postmaster of the Institution by Wilson Sept 5 1918. Photo available upon request
Reply
Charles
2/4/2023 05:38:30 am
Has the book been published yet?
Reply
Erin Dingle
2/4/2023 05:58:12 pm
Hi Charles...good news is I'm on Chapter 13 covering the WW1/Influenza years at the Maryland Tuberculosis Sanatorium. I expect (hope, fingers-crossed) to finish it this year. I've given one talk locally about the institution and have been asked to speak at other locations and I'm determined to have a print copy in hand when I do this. The focus will be from planning/opening 1908 until Dr. Cullen's passing in 1949 but even if your relative was there between 1949-1965 when it closed, I think you will appreciate the history of the facility.
Reply
Charles
2/6/2023 07:45:05 pm
Thanks for the update. My grandfather Russell Hudson died there in 1922 the age of 29.
Stephen V. Hines
2/26/2023 01:51:41 pm
Hi Erin,
Erin Dingle
3/4/2023 08:41:33 am
Hello Stephen V. Sines…reaching out to see if you saw my February 27th response. Looking forward to talking to you. 2/6/2023 07:26:31 pm
frances davis age and date of time she was at the nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn
Reply
Erin Dingle
2/27/2023 06:03:16 am
Replying to Steve V. Hines
Reply
Lynne Waters
4/9/2023 05:33:20 am
My mother was a patient in 1939 and told me many times about sleeping on the porch outside, even in the cold. She was from Salisbury, Maryland. She had just married my father when she was diagnosed. Unfortunately the tuberculosis returned again around the mid-1950s and she was then placed in Pine Bluff in Salisbury, Maryland. After receiving treatment there she never (thankfully) had a recurrence. Somewhere I have a picture of her on the porch in Sabillasville.
Reply
Erin Dingle
4/11/2023 05:46:20 pm
Hi Lynne - thanks for sharing your mother's story. It was not uncommon for people to relapse with TB. After the Maryland Sanatorium opened, there were always waiting lists and many of those were people who had already been in the hospital for treatment. I have several postcards depicting the women's shacks and would be happy to email them to you. I tried to paste them to this note but couldn't. You can email me at [email protected] if you would like to see them.
Reply
Nancy Glaser Schultz
10/21/2023 01:53:22 pm
I'd love to have any other info on this TB Hospital. My Dad's Mother was there in the 1920's. He essentially grew up without his Mother in his childhood.
Reply
Erin Dingle
10/22/2023 06:39:36 pm
Hello Nancy -
Reply
12/16/2023 08:33:31 am
I happy to hear the sucess stories at Sabillasville. The other side. They cut up my aunt with no findings of TB. In other words she was guinea pig. My mother was next for the operating table. She ran away. Thank God. Later in life she was told she NEVER had TB.
Reply
3/22/2024 06:09:48 pm
Your journey to uncover the history of the Maryland Tuberculosis Sanatorium and your great grandmother's connection to it is truly fascinating. It's evident that you've delved deeply into your family history, exploring the stories and experiences of past generations.
Reply
Leave a Reply. |