Lake Edward Sanatorium

The Lake Edward Sanatorium was created to treat tuberculosis patients before the availability of antibiotics and was long the main employer in Lac Édouard village. Its history covers a century, from 1904 to 2004, but its mission changed in 1968. The hospital complex is situated at the end of Lake Edward Village in "Haute Mauricie", in the province de Québec, Canada. The complex is built on a peninsula, north-east of lake Edward, 28 km long, at the head spring of Batiscan river. In 1904, there was no road, no electricity and no telephone. The nearest city was 179 km away by railway. Most of the buildings still exist.

The railway was the only access to lake Edward and the telegraph was the only means to communicate with Québec city to order material or technical help. In 1961, a gravel road reached the road no 155 and the village of La Tuque, but only during the winter when the Bostonnais river was frozen. The bridge on the river was opened on October 13, 1963. The 25 km road was asphalted in 1983. The distance by road is 58 km to La Tuque and 295 km to Québec.

By autumn 1886., the reached lake Edward and, in 1888, Roberval village at lake St John (the Canadian National Railway bought the company in 1918). A railway station with telegraph, a dormitory, a shunting yard, a water tower, a coal shed and a repair shop for steam locomotive were built near lake Edward, 179 km from Québec city, midway to lake St-John. The six service doors of the repair shop (train roundhouse, called the "Rotonde") were set in a semi-circle allowing access to steam locomotives on a large turntable. The coming of the railway workers marked the beginning of the village of Lac-Édouard, Quebec.

The railway opened a large forested area and wealthy Americans rented tracks of land for hunting and fishing from the Québec government. In 1886, the Triton Fish and Game Club opened on a nearby lake. In 1888, the Paradise Fin and Feather Club, with Kit Clarke as treasurer, had some camps on Paradise island of lake Edward (today Ziegfeld island, bought in 1908 and sold in 1932). The railway "Time Table" folder of the summer 1894 listed 14 clubs along the railway. In 1903, a forest fire ended all lumber operation in the region. There was no longer a need to operate the dam on the Batiscan river to control water level for lumber transport and the operator's house became vacant. The owner, Sir Richard Turner, used the house as a fishing camp; he also owned the sawmill of the village and the steam boat used to bring the lumber from as far as Steam Boat Bay.

The sanatorium started in 1904 when Richard Turner hosted three patients in his house. Lake Edward climate was believed to be healthy because of the 400 meter altitude. In 1905, as the house was not large enough for all the potential patients, Turner founded the Lake Edward Sanatorium Association with wealthy friends. The government of Québec granted 137 acres of land to the project. The sanatorium construction, at a cost of 26 000 Canadian dollars, started in 1908 with its official opening in 1909. The sanatorium goal was to accommodate up to 26 Anglo-Protestant patients. The main part of the building was 87’ x 25’, the west wing 28’ x 19’ and the east one 28’ x 54’[1]. In 1909, the directors accepted to receive French-catholic patients, provided that the Protestants had priority. After 1921, the association changed its mission in order to financially aid English hospitals and charitable organisations of Québec city. In 1976, its assets were transferred to the Citadel Foundation to help Anglo-Protestants in the Québec metropolitan area.

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Wikipedia