Jäckson Sänitorium

Dänsville, Nëw York

Fall 2007.

The reason that I crossed the border and took the American way around Lake Ontario was to visit the Jackson Sanitarium in Dansville, NY.

Dansville is a village located in Eastern New York State with an approximate population of 5000.  Around 1798 a spring was discovered in the adjacent East Mountain.  This spring didn't gain notoriety until 1853 when a Rochester businessman wanted to open a facility in the area based upon hydropathy.

Hydropathy was the belief that good health could be reached through the use of clean, pure water.  Bathing, showering, wet-sheet wrapping, douches and water consumption all played a role in this belief.  The Rochester businessman soon fell out of good health and the facility changed hands a few times until it found the hands of Dr. James Caleb Jackson in 1858. 

Jackson was a man, who after becoming ill; found hydropathy and returned to good health.  After this recovery, Jackson dedicated the remainder of his life to the study and practice of hydropathy.  After originally owning another hydropathy location, Jackson bought the location in Dansville as the Dansville Water Cure.

It was in Dansville that Jackson, and later his son, operated the successful endeavor.  Success continued until the main building burnt down in 1882 and it was feared that Dansville's success may soon come to a halt.  Thankfully, Jackson's son and his wife opened a new, larger, fire proof facility in 1883 - known as the Jackson Sanitarium.

The new Jackson Sanitarium thrived for a short amount of time, but eventually modern medicine led to a decline in the popularity of hydropathy and the Jackson Sanitarium was closed in 1914.  It was used briefly as a home for mentally ill soldiers returning from World War I; but didn't have any major uses until 1929 when health enthusiast Bernarr McFadden purchased the property.

Under McFadden, the location became a place for East Coasters to get away from it all and enjoy tennis (the courts still remain), swimming (the pool still remains), rooftop sunbathing and dancing.  McFadden's Physical Culture Hotel flourished until his death in 1955.  At that time, a New York hotelier purchased the location and renamed it Bernarr McFadden's Castle on the Hill.  It operated in a slow decline until its eventual closure in 1971.

It has sat vacant upon East Hill ever since.

It would be dumb to make an update with a video as well as a copious amount of pictures.

That being said, I did take some pictures that I liked from the Castle on the Hill.

The upper floors and even entire sections were in rough shape.

It did make me a little nervous by myself.

One portion of the upper floor suffered a fire and a wall shell fell upon a standing, un burnt wall.

It was a cold, cold day for a Canadian Ninja.

The exit went as smoothly as the exit.  I made it back to my whip and parted ways with Dansville.  I made sure to buy some gas and some food to support the community which supported my habits.

Thanks Dansville!

Anyway, I was still hungry and polished off the remaining portions of the lunch / dinner that Ashley packed me.  Ah, the lucrative incentives of being a scavenger.

I made my way through New York State, through the border smoothly and through Southern Ontario to London, Ontario with zero inclement weather.  Quite a snowstorm was afoot and it missed me completely - good things happen to good people sometimes I suppose.

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