Houghton County Sanatorium
| Houghton County Sanatorium | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Established | 1910 |
| Opened | 1912 |
| Closed | 1963 |
| Current Status | Demolished |
| Building Style | Single Building |
| Location | Hancock, MI |
| Alternate Names |
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History
In 1910, Houghton County voters approved a bond measure to construct a sanatorium on a plot of civic land near Houghton Canal Road, not far from the county’s residential facility for the indigent. The Houghton County Tuberculosis Sanatorium was built in Hancock, Michigan in 1912. The Sanatorium was administered by several county agencies and by the state. In keeping with the prevailing treatment philosophies of the time, which called for ample fresh air and natural light, the wood-frame building of the Houghton County Sanatorium featured a large screen porch to which patients were escorted on days when the weather was nice.
In 1925, the Sanatorium lost its state funding due to a change in the law. In order to qualify for state funds under the new law, alterations and improvements were made and administration was turned over to a board of trustees. By the end of 1926, the Sanatorium was again receiving state funding and the name was changed to the Copper Country Sanatorium. A 1940 WPA grant allowed for various other upgrades to the facility, now called the Copper Country Sanatorium. Just a few years after the WPA improvements, however, a state inspection found the tuberculosis hospital to be “an obvious fire trap” and unfit for continued use. In 1949 the Sanatorium was acquired by the state and leased back to the county. Construction began soon after on a modern brick building in Hancock, not far from what was then St. Joseph’s Hospital; the new facility would open in 1950.
By the mid 1960's, the number of tuberculosis patients had declined so much that the facility was returned to the county and used as a conventional hospital.
