Michigan State TB Sanatorium

Michigan State Sanatorium

a.k.a.

Howell Tubercular Sanatorium

At one time, the facility was a place to "take the cure" and from the notes on the back of these postcards that Sally Witt, who developed the old Sanatorium site and turned it into a beautiful Howell neighborhood. I found this card at an antiquarian book sale, it appears that this process took several months to a year.

It also appears that people came from all over the United States to enjoy the beauty of the surroundings and the very capable care they received there.

Below is a picture of the Administration Building taken right after its completion in about 1907 by Lyndon's Studio. Apparently these photos were made into post cards so that the patients could keep in touch with their friends and relatives sometimes hundreds of miles away.

Opened on the 10th of September in 1907, the facility had an administration building and several "open-air" shacks out behind the building. If you look to the left behind the administration building in the picture above you can see the patient "shacks". These each accommodated ten to twelve persons. The men's facility was opened first and the women's opened in about 1908. Bed rest was the treatment required, usually twenty hours a day with the only exercise being the walk to the dining room. Treatment consisted of this total rest as no drugs were used and of course no surgery was ever considered. The men were allowed playing cards and the women handiwork of any kind but that was about the extent of it.

The patients were kept in two files, either they paid for their own care or they were state or county cases and both were charged the same, a fee of $7.00 a week.

People came from the Detroit, Grand Rapids and Northern Michigan areas as well as other states, but few ever came from the Howell area.

If you would like to read more about the facility you can obtain a copy of the 1976 Howell Bicentennial History Book from local bookstores or the Livingston County Historical Society.

Below is another view of the main building at the center.

I just recently found more photos, and they are now linked to this page for your interest.

After the property had been used for various state services through the years, they seemed to go into a state of disrepair and were finally torn down in the 1970's after kids would use the site for their own activities that usually involved the arrival of the police.

The land, which is in a beautiful part of Livingston County, some say the highest point of the county lay unused for almost two decades. The towering, mature trees that include oak, pine and many other hardwood and deciduous varieties make for a potentially beautiful place to live.

If I can get some interviews with those that attend the reunion, I will add these at a future date.

A Photographic Album of Personal Sanatorium Images

Livingston County MI Historical & Genealogical Project

1895 U.S. Atlas Main Title Page

For More Information Contact: Pam Rietsch at: pam@livgenmi.com