Lake Tomahawk Sanatorium
| Lake Tomahawk Sanatorium | |
|---|---|
| Established | 1913 |
| Opened | 1915 |
| Closed | 1957 |
| Current Status | Preserved |
| Building Style | Single Building |
| Location | Lake Tomahawk, WI |
| Architecture Style | Tudor Revival |
| Alternate Names |
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History
Wisconsin had a strong tradition of pioneering activity in social programs and as early as 1910 it was recognized that a program for strengthening formerly bedridden patients from the Wisconsin State Tuberculosis Sanatorium was necessary for complete recovery from tuberculosis. At the same time, the state was also acquiring cutover lands left over from the intense logging operations in the forests of northern Wisconsin. Frank Avery Hutchins, a director of the Wisconsin Anti-Tuberculosis Association (WATA), suggested that patients convalescing from tuberculosis could help conserve the forest lands by planting seedlings, which would, at the same time, help build their strength. In 1913, after intense lobbying by the WATA, a bill was passed for this purpose by the state legislature (Chapter 679 of the Laws of 1913) which appropriated $16,000.00 to establish a rehabilitation camp of cottages for tuberculosis convalescents.
A site was chosen on a rise above Little Tomahawk Lake three miles from the village of Tomahawk Lake in Oneida County. The camp was enclosed on the south side by the lake and was surrounded by the forest reserve. By the summer of 1915, construction of a patients' cottage with a capacity of 20, an administration building, the employees' dormitory and a power plant was nearly complete. By the time the first patients were admitted in 1915, however, the forestry activities which were to be the centerpiece of camp activity were scrapped because the Wisconsin Supreme Court had ruled that the State did not have the constitutional authority to carry out a forest reserve program. Even without the reforestation program, there was plenty of work to be done. Men could work in the vegetable garden, cut fire wood, clear land for gardening, do maintenance work, help with building construction, etc. The men would begin by working 1 hour a day for the first month of their stay. After that they were given a physical examination and if their condition was not worse, they were given 2 hours of work per day.
A two-room patients' cottage was built using patient labor around 1924. Starting in the 1930s patients were involved in vocational training and extension courses offered by the state vocational board. Works Progress Administration teachers came to the camp to instruct the patients. Starting in the 1930s patients were involved in vocational training and extension courses offered by the state vocational board. Works Progress Administration teachers came to the camp to instruct the patients. Also during the 1930s, a six-room dormitory (bringing the capacity of the institution up to approximately 75) and a recreation building were constructed at the camp. There was little need for expansion of the facilities after the mid 1930s because the numbers of tuberculosis patients had been steadily declining. In the 1940s an anti-biotic was discovered which cured the disease. Population at the camp declined to such a low point by the early 1950s- that women were admitted to the camp in 1952 to help keep per capita operating costs under control.
In 1957, with tuberculosis all but wiped out and treatment consisting of preventative measures rather than forced convalescence, the camp was transferred to the State Division of Corrections for use as an honor prison camp. Male prisoners from the various correctional and juvenile institutions are sent there prior to their release.
