Until a working vaccine was developed against tuberculosis, the primary method for treatment was isolation and rest at a sanatorium. The first tuberculosis sanatorium in this country was the Trudeau Sanatorium, built in 1884 by Dr. Edward L. Trudeau at Saranac Lake, N.Y. Trudeau had contracted tuberculosis shortly after graduating from Columbia University Medical School, but his health began improving after he went to the Adirondack Mountains. He raised money and built a sanatorium at the same spot where he made his recovery, and the first patients were admitted on this date in 1885. Soon after, a laboratory was built, marking the Trudeau Center as a major tuberculosis research facility since the beginning of the 20th century.

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