Fort San Sanatorium

Seems I am constantly getting e-mails about people asking about Fort San. People seem so think I don't know about it or have not heard about it. Well I have been to many many locations and most of my favorites are not posted online - this is because I want to protect them from vandalism.

However this building has been destroyed including nurses houses, power plant, tunnels & a large part of the main building. Now that most of it is gone and the history along with it I have decided to share it with everyone. Pictures are from 2008 - 2011 when we documented the site on various trips.

Some history.....

Officially opened in 1917, The Fort Qu’Appelle Sanatorium, consisted of 230 sprawling acres of land. Fort San, as it was known, was designed to be almost completely self sufficient, with its own powerhouse, stables, piggery, poultry ranch, and a five acre garden. Through the persistence and diligence of the Anti-Tuberculosis League and Dr. G. Ferguson, patients from all across Saskatchewan were brought to Fort San via train and horse drawn buggy, entering into a community dedicated to the eradication of TB.

At its peak, Fort San could accommodate 358 patients and a vibrant community emerged through activities such as the drama club, the jazz band, and the internal radio program while the facility provided an environment of rest, good food, fresh air, and relaxation.

In 1918, World War I veterans created an extensive library at Fort San; books on the subject of tuberculosis were purchased so patients could educate themselves on the disease during the long hours of recuperation. This literary enlightenment led to the creation of The Sanatorium Journal composed of poems and musings that eventually turned into The Valley Echo, a publication that consisted of articles on tuberculosis and the sanatorium, as well as humorous essays and advertisements.

Throughout five decades, thousands of patients spent long months—and sometimes years—at Fort San. For some, it was a respite from poverty and labour; for others, it was a place of suffering and loss.

Through massive screening and prevention programs, as well as through new drug therapy, the number of tuberculosis patients declined significantly by the 1960s. In 1972, Fort San was no longer needed and the tuberculosis facility was closed.

http://quappelle.mendel.ca/en/fortsan/lifeandbreath/index.html

 

For full history and lots more pictures visit my website: http://www.vanishedcompass.com/fort-san.html

Great Race 2012

We participated in what is known as the "Great Race". It's where teams form and compete in a scavenger hunt including tasks that relate to Urban Exploration. This all takes place on a website known as Deggi5. We participated in this race last year and decided we would participate again this year. Usually we just plan a trip on the may long weekend, and it usually corresponds with the great race so we participate. Although this year we lost a team member and spent half the race sleeping but we did alright and did complete many tasks - considering the task list favors those in the states. I participated of course with Saskurbex and we did not have a team name but our sign name was "paranormal prairie pirate"- which i assume was given to us because last year we were the prairie pirates.

Here are a couple pictures from tasks on the list...

 Picture of Weyburn Mental, I am pointing to where we are a standing in relation to the map as Weyburn Mental is now demolished, but it was a beautiful Kirkbride style asylum.

Christmas decorations - you may recognize them from my annual Christmas post

Doing the YMCA on an abandoned toilet... Not the most enjoyable thing in a pitch black abandoned bathroom in an abandoned town hall

  

Trying to light paint a sign and an abandoned church all at once.

Our camera collection in an abandoned church - still missing a few camera's though.

brick plant with no past

Seems I am on a roll this year as this would be the third abandoned brick plant I have visited. This one I have meaning to visit for years now but never had a chance. But I finally did it and it was better than I expected. Small but still loaded with history this brick plant has a line of small kilns with two stacks on either sides. Evidence of outbuildings could also be seen.

I dont know much about the history of this plant. I do know that I am only posting these couple pictures of it because I feel you only need a few pictures of this place to give you a good feeling of what it is like.

Neat fact, the bricks used to build most of this brick plant were from Claybank Brick Plant. Ironic that I was just at Claybank for a visit. ^-^

return trips

Seems all I have been doing lately is return trips. I have seen most things in the area so all I have had time for is return trips to sites I have seen. I always like to check back and see what has changed, usually its for the worst. As depressing as it is to see these beautiful sites decay and be destroyed by other people it is part of the circle.

I chose to take a friend with me to a few sites I have been to in the past. I went with my camera but didn't take to many photo's as I have documented these sites many times. Here are just a couple of my favorite pictures from the bunch. Enjoy.

demolition fail

When i first moved here for the summer i explored a modern school that had been abandoned for years. About once a week i would go inside and walk the halls of a once busy school. It was partially flooded but full of desks, computers and other remnants of its past life. Many people in the city did not even realize this school was sitting abandoned for years.

It had been said for years that this school was going to be demolished for a new condo project. Nothing happened for years and i was under the impression this school may be here for a while. None the less Saskurbex & Phoenix Enigma came down to explore it in case things changed.

Good thing they did because demolition started a few weeks ago on the school. Built on a hill on the edge of a valley, this location is beautiful and i can understand the value of the land. With this location comes problems and the construction crew soon realized this.

See below the demolition fail:

(clip from the Estevan Mercury)
someone forget about the fact that they are on the edge of the valley. ^-^

Below are some photo's of its demolition:

mountain mining

Most of what we saw on the big trip were mines, mining camps and tipples.

The locations were very interesting and each had its own things to offer. There were plenty of photo opportunities - we spent hours wandering around these areas. As some of them were coal I always went in clean and came out covered in black. As per usual i am always the one who gets the dirtiest.

One of the places we went into i realized i had forgotten a flashlight and the building was fairly dark. After i got in the building there was a large flashlight sitting on a shelf that worked. Lucky for me i used it the entire time and then put it back before i was done.

creek through an old mine camp building

Photo Credit: Phoenix Enigma
tipple

saskurbex and i had a fight over this

mining equipment
Photo Credit: Phoenix Enigma

saskurbex, arilem (me) & captain canada
@ the top of an old mine - it was a steep drop but we went down anyways!
Photo Credit: Phoenix Enigma