A Cure in America's Eden

A guide at the Essex County Historical Society suggested I read about the Edward Livingston Trudeau because, as a pioneer in the medical community during the tuberculosis pandemic of the late 1800s, he was a firm believer in a location's ability to heal. Although I did not get to spend much time looking through a book the lady handed me called Cure Cottages of Saranac Lake: Architecture and History of a Pioneer Health Resort, I spent enough time to become curious about the power of place during this turbulent period in American history.

Back at the Mountain House, I did some research about Trudeau and watched a short PBS Documentary on youtube, "The Forgotten Plague". I was fascinated to learn that after traveling to the Adirondacks to bask in nature for what he thought would be one last time, Trudeau's tuberculosis symptoms alleviated; his gut-wrenching cough ceased, and he returned to a healthy weight. Only when he returned to the city did he succumb to the disease again. It was in Saranac Lake where he opened up his own laboratory and sanatorium TB patients. Inspired by Robert Koch's revolutionary discovery of the highly contagious bacterium that is the root of what, up until Koch's findings, was known as genetically inherited consumption, Trudeau founded the first US laboratory devoted solely to tuberculosis research in 1894. That same year, Charles Willard published The Land of Sunshine, a journal comprised of accounts of Los Angeles' healing powers and featuring contributions from Jack London and John Muir. Also concurrently, thousands of sick people were flocking to western cities such as Denver and Albuquerque in hopes of a cure.

By 1954, after antibiotics were circulated as an effective treatment for TB, Trudeau's sanitarium closed. Now, TB is not a pandemic scare. Discoveries about the humane immune system and ways in which we spread sickness have had a great influence over the way we treat diseases today. Yet, perhaps because there is not so much scientific evidence regarding the effects of nature on human health, holistic remedies are underrated. It is a wonder that antibiotics and medicine have come to be the norm, while herbal substances and healing through relaxation in nature are considered to be alternative ways of medicine. I am interested in doing more investigation to find out what aspects of rural settings caused people like Trudeau to drastically slow the processes of their diseases for decades. Perhaps, prior to the inpouring of people who sought a cure, the lack of industrial exhaust in places such as Los Angeles and Saranac Lake prevented the rapid spread and containment of germs. Was there some similar qualities in the climate or air quality between places such as L.A., Saranac Lake, Denver, etc. that cleared the lungs? Or did the atmosphere of such places have such a profound effect on the mind and soul that the body responded by detoxifying itself?

Each day, I am swarmed with health articles and tips on the internet and in advertisements that try to convince me of alternative, natural ways to improve my health. Yet, most of these sources have little to no references to cite to, and case studies that test the reactions to different substances and conditions require years and years of work and variables, let alone willing subjects. Although I am not sick, I do wonder if by spending more time outside and relaxing my body if I can improve my health in some way. I find it especially contradictory and perplexing to read about the ways TB was treated 120 years ago during a time when half of us at the Mountain House are ill in some way. This leads me to believe that there was some factor (or factors) that existed in the Adirondacks years ago that is less common today... but what is it?