Boulder was a health destination even in the 1800s
Carol Taylor Boulder County History
Carnegie Branch Library for Local History, Boulder Historical Society Collection / Courtesy photo
The Sanitarium Boarding Home operated circa December 1893 to 1896 on University Hill.
By Carol Taylor |
In the late 1800s, Boulder attracted many new residents — people who were afflicted with tuberculosis.
The infectious disease, also known as consumption and TB, for tubercle bacillus, had been around for hundreds of years but had no known remedy. But in the late 1800s, well before the development of antibiotics, physicians theorized that those suffering from the disease could find relief through good nutrition, fresh air and a high, dry climate.
In Europe, Switzerland offered many treatment centers. In America, people sought relief in Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado.
" … especially the lands at the foot of the Front Range — benefited consumptives through the abundance of sunshine and the aseptic atmosphere free of moisture and grit. It was a truism among enthusiasts that Colorado provided better conditions for invalids year-round than did even the famous health meccas of Switzerland," the book "Colorado: A History of the Centennial State" pointed out.
According to a Boulder Colorado Sanitarium history at the Carnegie Branch Library for Local History, Boulder resident Elder John Fulton, who had moved to Colorado for his own health, began writing in 1893 to Dr. John Harvey Kellogg, founder of the Battle Creek Sanitarium in Michigan, suggesting that a sanitarium be built in Boulder.
Kellogg, who later would form Kellogg's cereal company, founded Battle Creek Sanitarium on the ideas of Seventh Day Adventists. Adventists had settled in Battle Creek, as the town was tolerant of their religious sect. They believed in healing techniques that cared for the mind, body and spirit and favored natural treatments of water, sunshine, exercise, rest and proper diet. Kellogg purposely distinguished his sanitarium (an institution for health) from a sanitorium (a medical facility for long-term illness).
Kellogg agreed to sponsor a sanitarium in Boulder. In December 1893, the Boulder Sanitarium Boarding Home was opened on University Hill and advertised "Trained Nurses and Specially Nourishing Foods."
One of the home's nearby neighbors was Mount Saint Gertrude's Academy, which was opened in 1892 to educate children with tuberculosis.
Seventh Day Adventists and nurses from the Battle Creek Sanitarium ran the offshoot boarding home, but Fulton and his wife later took over the operation. Noted physician Dr. O.C. Place came to Boulder from Battle Creek to provide medical care. The boarding home expanded with two cottages.
Within a year, the Sanitarium Boarding Home was full with 25 residents from several eastern states, according to newspaper reports. The limited facility could not meet the increasing demand for services. A large piece of land at Fourth and Mapleton was purchased and plans for a multiple-story, full-fledged health resort were made. The boarding house was replaced by the Boulder Colorado Sanitarium, opened in 1896.
Oral histories at the Carnegie Branch Library include dozens of recollections of people with TB moving to Boulder. A great number of these "tuberculars" became contributing citizens. Many fine academics chose to teach at the University of Colorado because the Boulder climate would ease their tuberculosis symptoms.
Dr. Theodore Cockerell, a naturalist, founder of the CU Museum and one of CU's most prolific writers, came to Colorado from England because of his TB. Wealthy New York businessman John Harbeck built a grand summer residence on University Hill to find relief from the disease. Dutchman Saco DeBoer, landscape architect for North Boulder Park and author of Boulder's first zoning ordinance, moved to New Mexico and then to Colorado hoping for a cure.
In addition to being the reason for Boulder's first Catholic school, tuberculosis is responsible for bringing believers in alternative medicine, natural healing and healthful foods to Boulder.
Carol Taylor and Silvia Pettem write about history for the Daily Camera. Email Carol at boulderhistorylibrarian@gmail.com, Silvia at pettem@earthlink.net or write to the Daily Camera, 5450 Western Ave., Boulder 80301.
Carol Taylor
Carol Taylor writes about history for the Daily Camera. Follow Carol's Instagram @signsofboulderhistory. Email Carol at boulderhistorylibrarian@gmail.com.