Nebraska Sanitarium at Hastings
| Nebraska Sanitarium at Hastings | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Opened | 1907 |
| Closed | 1920 |
| Current Status | Demolished |
| Building Style | Single Building |
| Location | Hastings, NE |
| Alternate Names |
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History[edit]
The Nebraska Sanitarium operated between 1894 and 1920 in College View, a suburb of Lincoln, Nebraska. It was founded by John Harvey Kellogg as a branch of the Battle Creek Sanitarium, and initially housed in a large frame dwelling north of the Union College campus. In the late 1890s, the college was facing a financial crisis due to a dramatic decrease in students. Since the sanitarium was growing, it leased North Hall, one of the college’s dormitories, in 1899 for $1,250 a year. The purpose of the sanitarium, as with other Adventist sanitariums, was to provide a place of healing while also teaching patients and students how to live healthful lives through natural means.
Located on the north end of Union’s rural campus, the Nebraska Sanitarium was away from the city but close enough to draw attention to its work. The spacious lawn was equipped with swinging lawn chairs. In 1905 the sanitarium purchased the property for $17,800, giving the college the means to build a men’s dormitory. In addition, the grove behind the facility was leased jointly to the college and the sanitarium by the Central Union Conference to become a park and outdoor gymnasium.
A branch operation, using the same name, was opened in Hastings, Nebraska in 1908, along with a nurses’ training school that enrolled an average of 20 students a term. The Hastings branch was financially self-sufficient, even though it also did a great amount of charity work. Its patronage peaked at 700 in 1916-1917 but by 1920 had dropped to 215. The peak years of operation for the sanitarium were 1915 and 1916 when it served 2500 patients each year with its 80 rooms.
In the years immediately after World War I, patronage at the sanitarium diminished while attendance at Union College increased. In 1920, the college president, H.A. Morrison, reported a severe shortage of dorm space. Acquisition of the sanitarium enabled the college to meet this need at a cost of $65,000. Thus the Nebraska Sanitarium building was converted back to a dormitory in 1920.14 It was hoped that the sanitarium would be able to find another place to operate.15 A plan to return the building to the sanitarium after the 1920-1921 school year did not work out, and it never reopened.
