Any Empire State resident knows that the state has a fascinating history. We’ve played an important role in so many pivotal periods in American history, from colonial times to the Civil War. You can learn a lot about the past by exploring our numerous historic sites and buildings, including the now-abandoned Jackson Sanatorium. Let’s take a look…
In 1854, just a few years after Dansville was incorporated, a spa opened in the area. The owner believed that the sulfur springs in the area could cure a variety of ailments.
Wikimedia Commons
The spa later closed and was later reopened as “Our Home on the Hillside,” a facility that housed people with developmental disabilities and those suffering from stress.
The Explorographer/Flickr
Interestingly, it was during this time period that the first breakfast cereal was invented at the sanatorium.
George V/Google Maps The doctor that owned the facility, Caleb Jackson, believed in healthy living and eating. He called his mixture of milk-soaked bran and graham flour “granula” and fed it to his patients. Jackson also invented Somo, a grain-based coffee substitute that lacked caffeine.
After the Civil War, the building was a popular lecture site for speakers like Frederick Douglass and Susan B. Anthony. The building was destroyed in a fire not long after the war and rebuilt as the “Jackson Sanatorium.”
George V/Google Maps Spas and water-based health resorts fell out of favor in the early 20th century. A two-year nursing school was opened at the property, but the facility filed for bankruptcy in 1914.
During World War I, the U.S. government used the sanatorium as a psychiatric hospital. After the war, another health resort was opened, then a hotel, but both closed.
George V/Google Maps
A final hotel was opened in 1955 that stayed in business as “The Castle On The Hill” for over a decade, but it closed when the owner passed in 1971.
George V/Google Maps
As you can see from the photos, the building has now fallen into disrepair. Plans have been bandied about to turn the building into yet another medical facility or hotel, but as of now, no progress has been made. Are there any other abandoned buildings in New York you’d love to know more about? Share your ideas in the comments below, or nominate a place here!
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Address: Jackson Sanatorium, 39 NY-256, Dansville, NY 14437, USA
Any Empire State resident knows that the state has a fascinating history. We’ve played an important role in so many pivotal periods in American history, from colonial times to the Civil War. You can learn a lot about the past by exploring our numerous historic sites and buildings, including the now-abandoned Jackson Sanatorium. Let’s take a look…
Wikimedia Commons
The Explorographer/Flickr
George V/Google Maps
The doctor that owned the facility, Caleb Jackson, believed in healthy living and eating. He called his mixture of milk-soaked bran and graham flour “granula” and fed it to his patients. Jackson also invented Somo, a grain-based coffee substitute that lacked caffeine.
Spas and water-based health resorts fell out of favor in the early 20th century. A two-year nursing school was opened at the property, but the facility filed for bankruptcy in 1914.
As you can see from the photos, the building has now fallen into disrepair. Plans have been bandied about to turn the building into yet another medical facility or hotel, but as of now, no progress has been made.
Are there any other abandoned buildings in New York you’d love to know more about? Share your ideas in the comments below, or nominate a place here!
