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

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.

all that remains

Went out with Saskurbex to a place we have been at least once. Seems every time we try to reach it the road is impassible due to snow or mud. We took my small car on dry grids and made it out to this elevator and church. Nothing had changed except the decor in the church. It was nice to revisit this.

The highlight would be visiting a more intact elevator and driving through grass as tall as my car.

great race 2011

This year Saskurbex and I decided to participate in the Great Race. Its basically a scavenger hunt for urban explorers that is organized by Deggi5.

Since we have never participated before and we live in the most desolate province ever - we planned out a route and traveled over 1000 miles. . .yes miles. Starting at 2:30am on Saturday, we drove to our starting point which was about 4 hours away.

So we began the race at 6:00am and had twelve hours to race and post the pics online for judging. They gave us our list and password which was "Arrrr Matey" (which related to our team name being pirates). We hit the road following our route and tight timeline finishing as many tasks as we could. I spent all weekend in my rubber boots and a raincoat for obvious reasons.

We came in fourth place, which isn't that great since their were only four teams that finished but we did our best considering it rained most of the weekend and getting to places was interesting to say the least. We were glad we didn't take my car because we could have never made it down some of the roads.

Here are just some of our pictures from the race.. .

find a no trespassing sign

put clothes on found in a location

laughing -because having fun is what its about

whole team in a bed

landlocked boat

abandoned church!

mummify a teammate in a location

room/cell with bars

provincial boarder
yes we made it to the Alberta/Sask boarder

teammate in a tight space

on a bicycle

dead animal

30 cans in a location

christmas hall

To celebrate the christmas season Saskurbex, Scythe & I decided to head to a town hall we had visited last year. Unforunately things change over a year and the piano along with our favorite decorations were gone. The christmas tree was still there and the basement was frozen with 2 feet of ice. This proved to be alot of fun as Scythe & I played some hockey with 2 brooms and a big wax candle shaped like a pine cone. The hall was still fun but this may be the last year we go there at christmas.

Some highlights:
- little frogs frozen in the ice
- ice perfect for hockey
- frozen chairs in the ice
- christmas tree still intact
- nothing broken
- saskurbex falling into waist high snow on the way back
- visiting an old abandoned church on the way

face off!

one of many little frogs frozen

what intersection?

The other night there were very bad road conditions. On our way back we decided to stop at a couple potential ghost towns. Unfortunately for us saskurbex hit ice and ended up driving us straight through a t-intersection into the ditch. Fortunately for us i have both CAA and cell phone reception with virgin mobile. We were rescued in a fairly short time but it seemed like forever as we watched the weather outside get worse.

My tip to everyone is be prepared, make sure you have all the necessary winter clothes and an emergency kit. I have CAA which definitely saved me in this case and having a phone that you know has reception around the province will also prove helpful in the end.

Here are some photo's of the vehicle:

missed church

Believe it or not i missed exploring a church. In an area i have explored many times i missed seeing a spectacular little stone church! :o

Saskurbex finally found some time to explore with me so we went out on a last minute small trip to some familiar churches and decided to see this other one i had missed many times before. It was a cold night and there was a lot of snow but the church was worth our while.

Highlights:
- a working organ in the church
- making a snow angel
- trudging through thigh high snow
- getting to wear all my winter gear!
- finding something new that is nearby
- forgetting my flashlight
- finding a stone building

here are some pics: