Was a tuberculosis sanatorium ever built in Adams County? - Herald-Whig

Posted: Feb. 25, 2019 12:00 pm

I was at the Adams County Health Department, and I saw an architectural drawing of the Adams County Tuberculosis Sanatorium from 1918 hanging on a wall. Was it ever built, and where was it at?

The plans you saw did come to fruition. The Hillcrest Sanatorium was built on a 20-acre site at 3200 State. It opened in 1920.

An Aug. 22, 1994, article, written by Edward Husar for The Herald-Whig, said the site was similar to hundreds across the country. It served as an isolation ward for people with active cases of TB. The contagious respiratory disease killed hundreds of Adams County residents in the late 1800s and early 1900s, Husar wrote.

The establishment of Hillcrest received a spark in 1913 after the late Theresa Woodruff bequeathed a grant to the county to set up a TB sanatorium. This led to the formation of the Adams County Tuberculosis Association and then the Adams County Respiratory Disease Association.

In 1915, the Illinois General Assembly passed the Glackin Act, which allowed counties to levy a tax for the construction and operation of TB sanatoriums. This led to the creation of the Adams County Tuberculosis Board, which still exists.

"The course of treatment at Hillcrest was the same for everyone, consisting mainly of bed rest, good nutrition and a daily dose of cod liver oil," Husar wrote. "Patients stayed in their beds with window open year-round, hoping the fresh air would help clear up the disease, once known as 'consumption.' "

Patients were encouraged to get plenty of sunshine, with some rolled out on beds to lie in the sun.

Though that did little to eradicate the TB, Hillcrest did its job to isolate those with TB from the general population, and many patients recovered naturally.

Hillcrest had an initial capacity of 50, though it eventually was cut to 38. When it reached capacity, some patients waiting for an opening would build their own isolation cottages to prevent spreading the disease to their family.

In the early 1920s, two cottages were added to the facility for patient care, though they were later used for staff housing.

More than 2,125 patients with TB were treated at the facility before it closed in July 1968 as anti-TB drugs were developed and the need for TB sanatoriums dropped.

It was later sold at auction, and the site is now home to Country Club Trace and Country Club Heights apartments.

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