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State Institutions : Tuberculosis Hospitals

A guide to researching records of hospitals, prisons, and other institutions operated by the State of Minnesota.

About Tuberculosis Hospitals

The State of Minnesota and several counties operated tuberculosis hospitals, which treated patients suffering from this highly contagious disease that for many years was a major public health threat in the state. Among these institutions are:

  • Ah-Gwah-Ching: Officially known as the Minnesota Sanatorium for Consumptives, it opened in 1907 near Walker in Cass County.  In 1963 Ah-Gwah-Ching became a nursing home.
     
  • Buena Vista Sanatorium: Opened in 1917 in the city of Wabasha.  The majority of patients were from Winona and Wabasha Counties.  It closed in 1955.
     
  • Glen Lake Sanatorium: Operated as Hennepin County tuberculosis hospital from 1916 to 1961 and as Glen Lake Sanatorium from 1961 to 1991.
     
  • Lake Julia Sanatorium: Located in Beltrami County,  treated tuberculosis patients from 1916 to 1948.
     
  • Nopeming Sanatorium: Opened in 1912 in Nopeming, St. Louis County.  In 1971 the institution ceased serving patients with tuberculosis and became the Nopeming Nursing Home.
     
  • Riverside Sanatorium: Located three miles south of Granite Falls, was open from 1917 to 1964.
     
  • Southwestern Minnesota Sanatorium: Built on the south shore of Lake Okabena near Worthington, opened in 1917 and closed in 1957.
     
  • Sunnyrest Sanatorium: Located in Crookston, provided care for tuberculosis patients in northwestern Minnesota from 1916 to 1967.

Researching Tuberculosis Hospitals

Find more information about tuberculosis hospitals in our State Hospital Research Guide. 

Search the library catalog for published materials and archival records about specific tuberculosis hospital. There are records documenting the operation of the facilities, and some records about individuals who were patients there.

Some of the finding aids for the tuberculosis records are available online; others can be found in notebooks available in the library.  

Photographs of tuberculosis hospitals can be found in Collections Online.  

Records about individuals may be restricted to protect personal privacy. Library catalog records and finding aids will contain guidelines on restrictions. 

Search for Primary Sources at MNHS

Gale Family Library • Minnesota Historical Society • 345 W. Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul, MN 55102-1906 • 651-259-3300
Currently open by appointment only.