Tuberculosis was a considerable public health concern throughout the first half of the 20th century. In the Jim Crow-era South, tuberculosis ranked the highest among African-Americans living in poverty. As the Progressive Era called for an increasing level of government responsibility for public health, sanatoriums became the favored prescription for disease control and tuberculosis treatment. By the 1920s, tuberculosis was even the leading killer of young adults.
In 1936, with thousands of reported cases, construction began on a larger sanatorium. The new hospital opened in 1938 with 268 beds.At the time, there was no cure for tuberculosis. Being diagnosed with the disease was essentially a death sentence. The sanatorium was vastly overcrowded to the point patient beds lined the hallways.Due to a long waiting list, patient treatment was limited to 18 months. However, the most severe patients spent years in quarantine.
A cure was not developed until the 1950s. Tuberculosis became so widespread that almost every person in South Carolina had a family member afflicted with the disease.This wood-framed Administration Building is one of the oldest buildings in the complex. In the early years, the sanatorium operated as a self-sustaining farm with 200 acres.The first black patients were admitted with the opening of Palmetto Hall, later known as the Palmetto Division. The sanatorium remained a racially segregated institution throughout its history as a state-operated facility.
After years of a steady decline in patients, the sanatorium closed in the 1980s.
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Columbia, SC – it sits on a large swath of city/state land between Parklane and Farrow Rds. I ironically go running through this area as it is right next to where I live. Didn’t even notice the place the first few times I ran by. A bit dilapidated at this point and it seems that squatters have taken up to living in the space.
These are great and the history is very interesting. I’m an amateur photographer and I love taking photographs of this kind of stuff. I have a page on Facebook called the Vanishing Lowcountry. I was just curious how you would go about getting permission to get inside for a place like this to take pictures. Thanks for sharing your photos and I look forward to seeing more.
Thanks for telling some of the history of this place. I live 4 miles from it and have a friend that works for dhec next door. I have wanted and tried to get a chance to visit it but can’t. If you have a way I could I would love to talk to you. My email is phillipfouche12@gmail.com. thanks again. Keep it up
I was wondering where this is located as well as I was told the middle school I attended was once a TB sanatorium. This one looks similar as much as I can recall.
my paternal grandmother died in that hospital when I was in grade school. we visited her there in the late 1940’s. my paternal grandfather died of tuberculosis the year the hospital opened, which was also the year I was born.
Is anybody know how to get ahold of these people I’ve been in the back building but I would have go in the main building but I want to do it legally how do I get ahold of them
I have my grandmother’s death certificate. This hospital is where she died. The hospital is in in Richland County. The doctor did not no what was wrong with ny grandmother when she first entered the facility. My grandmother just gave birth to her last child and he or the family did not have this disease. He just put what he thought, no autopsy was performed. Blacks was not treated properly when they went for medical care. I’m thinking my grandmother had post pardon depression that wasn’t treated and contracted that disease. I have been tested for years and did not have a clue my grandmother died from this disease. This was a place they just put people the would not treat because of money.
My father spent over a year in this hospital. He never talked about it, but my mother told me the story. He was diagnosed with tuberculosis after he had a physical that was required for a job he applied for. The doctor saw something on his lung, and diagnosed him, incorrectly as it turns out, with tuberculosis. He spent over a year at the hospital knowing he did not have it. He spent all his time learning how not to catch the disease. He was re-checked after a year and was told he did not have tuberculosis. If he was still alive, my dad would be 100 years old. This stay in the hospital impacted him for the rest of his life. He was “fanatical”about germs. In the 1970s when I was a little boy I remember he carried rubbing alcohol in his truck everywhere he went. This was long before people used hand sanitizer. If he ever touched money or touched a door handle going into a business or touched almost anything he thought was dirty, he would wash his hands with rubbing alcohol if there was not soap and water around. He lost a year of his life because of a wrong diagnosis.
The hospital is located in Columbia, South Carolina and it is very much illegal to enter, patrolled heavy by police, one of my favorite YouTubers was arrested for being there!
Abandoned Southeast
Where is this facility located??
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Columbia, SC – it sits on a large swath of city/state land between Parklane and Farrow Rds. I ironically go running through this area as it is right next to where I live. Didn’t even notice the place the first few times I ran by. A bit dilapidated at this point and it seems that squatters have taken up to living in the space.
LikeLike
These are great and the history is very interesting. I’m an amateur photographer and I love taking photographs of this kind of stuff. I have a page on Facebook called the Vanishing Lowcountry. I was just curious how you would go about getting permission to get inside for a place like this to take pictures. Thanks for sharing your photos and I look forward to seeing more.
LikeLike
Thanks for telling some of the history of this place. I live 4 miles from it and have a friend that works for dhec next door. I have wanted and tried to get a chance to visit it but can’t. If you have a way I could I would love to talk to you. My email is phillipfouche12@gmail.com. thanks again. Keep it up
LikeLike
I was wondering where this is located as well as I was told the middle school I attended was once a TB sanatorium. This one looks similar as much as I can recall.
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I google searched, and this is in South Carolina. Not sure what city.
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Lexington
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is this place up for auction ??
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Oooo I always see places like this on ghost hunting shows. Did you get any kind of scary vibe being in there? Hear any weird noises?
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my paternal grandmother died in that hospital when I was in grade school. we visited her there in the late 1940’s. my paternal grandfather died of tuberculosis the year the hospital opened, which was also the year I was born.
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My Grandfather born in 1900 called the “Fresh Air Camps”.
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Thank you for sharing.
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Is anybody know how to get ahold of these people I’ve been in the back building but I would have go in the main building but I want to do it legally how do I get ahold of them
LikeLike
I have my grandmother’s death certificate. This hospital is where she died. The hospital is in in Richland County. The doctor did not no what was wrong with ny grandmother when she first entered the facility. My grandmother just gave birth to her last child and he or the family did not have this disease. He just put what he thought, no autopsy was performed. Blacks was not treated properly when they went for medical care. I’m thinking my grandmother had post pardon depression that wasn’t treated and contracted that disease. I have been tested for years and did not have a clue my grandmother died from this disease. This was a place they just put people the would not treat because of money.
LikeLike
My father spent over a year in this hospital. He never talked about it, but my mother told me the story. He was diagnosed with tuberculosis after he had a physical that was required for a job he applied for. The doctor saw something on his lung, and diagnosed him, incorrectly as it turns out, with tuberculosis. He spent over a year at the hospital knowing he did not have it. He spent all his time learning how not to catch the disease. He was re-checked after a year and was told he did not have tuberculosis. If he was still alive, my dad would be 100 years old. This stay in the hospital impacted him for the rest of his life. He was “fanatical”about germs. In the 1970s when I was a little boy I remember he carried rubbing alcohol in his truck everywhere he went. This was long before people used hand sanitizer. If he ever touched money or touched a door handle going into a business or touched almost anything he thought was dirty, he would wash his hands with rubbing alcohol if there was not soap and water around. He lost a year of his life because of a wrong diagnosis.
LikeLike
The hospital is located in Columbia, South Carolina and it is very much illegal to enter, patrolled heavy by police, one of my favorite YouTubers was arrested for being there!
LikeLike