Pennsylvania Highlands Community College - Cresson Sanatorium

About This Collection

In 1900, there were 34 sanatoriums in the United States. By 1925 there were 536. The Cresson Sanatorium was one of the earlier sanatoriums and provides a record of life at an institution at a time of heightened health concerns and spread of tuberculosis. The Cresson Sanatorium was located in the mountain near the present-day town of Cresson in Cambria County. The "San" as it was known, was in existence from 1913 and 1964 and treated people diagnosed with tuberculosis. Some patients stayed or years, while others who died there were never reclaimed by their families and are interred in a nearby hillside. The items in this collection have been gathered from persons who were patients at the San or who had relatives who were patients there. Most materials were gathered at part of a centennial commemoration of the Cresson Sanatorium.