The MacLachlan Sanitarium is a hospital/family home located at 6482 Pingree Road in Elwell, Michigan. It was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1981[2] and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.[1]
Dr. Charles H. MacLachlan Sanitarium and House | |
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| Location | 6482 Pingree Rd., Elwell, Michigan |
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| Coordinates | 43°23′9″N 84°44′47″W / 43.38583°N 84.74639°W |
| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | 1908 |
| NRHP reference No. | 82000533[1] |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | November 22, 1982 |
| Designated MSHS | January 8, 1981[2] |
History edit
Dr. Charles H. MacLachlan was born in 1845 in Perth County, Ontario, the son of Alexander and Clamina MacLachlan.[3] He later moved to Pennsylvania, and there married Sarah E. Peters in 1871. Maclachlan was an early proponent of "physiological therapeutics," a treatment of chronic diseases without the use of medication.[2] He studied at Juttners Physiological Institute in Cincinnati, then moved to Seville Township in 1883. There, he constructed a sanitarium as a facility to treat chronic diseases such as tuberculosis, rheumatism, and nerve and skin disease. The facility also served as a local hospital. MacLachlan slowly built the establishment into a thriving medical practice, and in 1908 added a main section to the facility.[2]
The structure was used as a sanitarium until MacLachlan's death in 1920.[2] Afterward, it was used as a boardinghouse, bar, restaurant, dancehall, and private residence.
Description edit
The Charles H. MacLachlan Sanitarium consists of two attached sections: a small single-story wood-framed structure built in 1883 and a larger two-story fieldstone structure built in 1908.[2] The 1883 section is clad with clapboards and sits on a stone pad; it has a gable roof and double hung sashwindows. The 1908 section is constructed of uncoursed fieldstone, sitting on a stone pad and topped with a hip roof. A deep veranda spans the front of the building and wraps around one corner. The veranda has support columns and a balustrade constructed of fieldstone. The windows of the structure are surrounded with slightly arced stone frames.[2]
References edit
- ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- ^ a b c d e f g "MacLachlan, Dr. Charles H., Sanitarium and House". Michigan State Housing Development Authority: Historic Sites Online. Archived from the original on December 24, 2013. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
- ^ Willard Davis Tucker (1912), Gratiot County, Michigan: Historical, Biographical, Statistical, Volume 2, pp. 1119–1120