This week on The Historians Podcast, Amy Catania of Historic Saranac Lake explains how that upstate New York community became a center for the treatment of tuberculosis. [Read more…] about A History of TB Treatment at Saranac Lake
Historic Saranac Lake
Cure Porch Cousining: Love In A Time of TB
“The great tragedy of life is not that men perish, but that they cease to love.” — W. Somerset Maugham.
Before antibiotics, one of the more powerful medicines against tuberculosis was love. Happy patients tended to be more successful in overcoming the disease, so health care providers took every step to improve patients’ state of mind.
Patients stayed busy with occupational therapy and social activities. In the Adirondacks around Saranac Lake, cure porches were oriented toward the best views to boost patients’ sprits with natural beauty. And then there was cousining — a term for informal romances that developed between patients. [Read more…] about Cure Porch Cousining: Love In A Time of TB
Saranac Lake’s Famous Cure Porches Have Stories To Tell
Long after people die, the buildings where they made their lives often remain. Many visitors to the Saranac Laboratory Museum follow the footsteps of a family member who came to Saranac Lake with tuberculosis.
Often the only trace that remains is the address of a cure cottage and a porch where their relative once took the fresh air. [Read more…] about Saranac Lake’s Famous Cure Porches Have Stories To Tell
Poverty, Tuberculosis, COVID-19 and the Luxury of Health
Since we first opened the Saranac Laboratory Museum doors in 2009, thousands have come to learn about Saranac Lake’s history as a center for tuberculosis research and treatment.
Visitors often ask about the cost of care and who was able to afford it. Was Saranac Lake’s fresh air treatment just for rich people? Did people of different ethnic groups and social classes have access to the cure? [Read more…] about Poverty, Tuberculosis, COVID-19 and the Luxury of Health
Historic Saranac Lake to Document COVID Crisis
Historic Saranac Lake announced a new documentation project, “Saranac Lake in the Time of COVID” to help document local history. [Read more…] about Historic Saranac Lake to Document COVID Crisis
Essential Workers: A Saranac Lake History Perspective
The city of Saranac Lake’s 20th century tuberculosis healthcare economy depended on the labor of many essential workers. In honor of today’s heroes, here are a few of their stories. [Read more…] about Essential Workers: A Saranac Lake History Perspective
Saranac Lake: Public Health In The Great Outdoors
The natural environment of the Adirondacks is at the heart of our history as a center for tuberculosis treatment. The fresh air and beauty of the region was believed to restore both body and spirit alike, and thousands came here from around the world in search of the fresh air cure.
[Read more…] about Saranac Lake: Public Health In The Great Outdoors
Northeast Heritage Economy Grants Awarded
The Preservation League of New York State, as part of a four-state coalition, has announced targeted grants to projects in the communities of Whallonsburg, Saranac Lake, Blue Mountain Lake, and Oneida. [Read more…] about Northeast Heritage Economy Grants Awarded
Saranac Lake Local History Has Lessons For Today
Many years ago, Saranac Lake, NY, rallied to fight a deadly disease – tuberculosis – which killed one in seven people in the late nineteenth century.
Highly contagious and with no known cure, fear and stigma surrounded TB. Unlike the new virus we face today, many of its victims were young people in their 20s. Like today, quarantine was often seen as an appropriate solution, and sometimes people were isolated against their will. A person’s ethnicity, race, and socioeconomic status affected the kinds of treatments available. [Read more…] about Saranac Lake Local History Has Lessons For Today
Saranac Lake Sanatorium Tour Planned
The Adirondack Cottage Sanitarium was a tuberculosis sanatorium established in Saranac Lake in 1885 by Dr. Edward Livingston Trudeau. After Trudeau’s death in 1915, the institution’s name was changed to the Trudeau Sanatorium.
Historic Saranac Lake has announced a tour of the grounds, set for February 5th, at 10:30 am. [Read more…] about Saranac Lake Sanatorium Tour Planned