El Paso Sanatorium, 1109 N. Cotton.

El Paso Sanatorium, 1109 N. Cotton.

The image shows the El Paso Sanatorium at 1109 N. Cotton Street in 1910. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, tuberculosis spread rapidly in the United States. Throughout most of the 19th century, pulmonary tuberculosis was thought to be a hereditary disease aggravated by humid air, damp soil, lack of exercise, inadequate diet, and overcrowded and poorly ventilated housing. However, in 1882, German physician Robert Koch described the rod-shaped organism called the tubercle bacillus that causes tuberculosis. The microscopic bacteria were impossible to destroy unless exposed to heat or light. Since most infections came from people with pulmonary TB, such people needed to be isolated to check the spread of the disease. The Southwest, including El Paso, was considered ideal for the treatment of TB because of its dry, warm climate. It attracted TB patients from all over the country. The completion of the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1881 encouraged tuberculars to come west. Early care of TB patients consisted of sitting in parks to absorb the sun and convalescence in private homes. This method was ineffective and many people died. The migration of infected persons in search of a climatic cure created a major public health problem for sections of the Southwest from the late 1890s through the 1920s. During this period, many sanatoriums and hospitals opened to treat tuberculars and this deadly disease helped establish El Paso as a health center. One of the sanatoria, which treated TB patients was the El Paso Sanatorium, which opened in 1910. It is now an apartment house.

Area: Central / Rim Road

Collection: Aultman Collection

Source: El Paso Public Library

Uploaded by: El Paso Museum of History

Comments

Add a comment
Thank you for your comment

Report this entry

Choose the most important reason for this report

Your name

Your email address

Optional detail

Thank you for your report

More from the same community-collection

Fun in the park

Climbing trees at Tom Lea park

Star from Cotton and Arizona

The first star was built by El Paso Electric in 1940. It was ...

Christian Petrus Fox

Christian Petrus Fox was born in El Paso in 1896, Fox attended ...

Star on the Mountain

Photograph taken 400 feet above the Star using a DJI Phantom 2 ...

House @ 429 Mesita Kern Place

House at 429 Mesita built in 1938 or 39 one of the first houses ...

Albert Baldwin Health Resort

The early 1900s health care history of El Paso was mainly ...

El Paso Sanatorium, 1910

The image shows the El Paso Sanatorium at 1109 N. Cotton Street ...

Southwestern General, 1925

Southwestern General - 1925 his facility in El Paso TX was ...

El Paso Police Academy - late 50s

El Paso Police Academy - late 50s

El Paso Police Department First SWAT Team

El Paso Police Department 1st SWAT Team Standing left to right: ...

El Paso Police Memorial

El Paso Police Memorial

El Paso Scenic Drive

El Paso Scenery

Wedding Photo Alfonso T. Peinado and Virginia Solis

Wedding photo of Alfonso Teodelo Peinado and Virginia Solis. El ...

Star In The Mountain

Photograph taken just before sunset Arizona Avenue and Magnolia ...

View of the city

Stopped by scenic drive to enjoy the view of the city

Morning fog

A low fog rolls into Downtown while I watch from scenic drive

Art & Patsy Reyes true love

Selfie at Airiel Tramway

Gloria Lopez Alvarado

Gloria Lopez Alvarado at the age of eighteen ---wife of Tony ...

Tony (Blue) Alvarez Senior Year Photograph

Tony (Blue) Alvarez's Senior year photograph from Bowie High ...

Up in the mountain

I was taking a walk at the Franklin mountain

First Trip to Scenic Drive

My friend's boyfriend (now husband) was visiting El Paso for the ...

Bikers in El Paso - Video

A video of bikers in El Paso, Texas. Interviews with local ...

Dale and Nona Resler's 50th Anniversary - 1972

Mr. & Mrs. Dale Resler of 825 East Blacker Avenue, El Paso, ...

home.search_collection