Attleboro Springs Sanitarium Reminants-3/20/07

I was sitting around doing some research online and came across this article about the former Attleboro Springs Sanitarium.


In Attleboro, James Solomon was gathering herbs and roots in the woods on this property for herbal remedies that he concocted and peddled. Although he was known as Dr. Solomon, he was not a medical doctor, but his dream was to build a great sanatorium on this spot where people would come to be healed of cancer. In 1894 an engineer surveyed the grounds and by March of 1901 the walls stood in place to receive the giant roof. A local businessman pledged the necessary financial backing to complete the project. The sanatorium cost $400,000 to build!
On April 25, 1903 "Solomon's Sanatorium" was dedicated. The statistics in the Day Program included this information: 475,709 bricks, 309 windows, 3,254 panes of glass, 21 fireplaces, 200 rooms, and 27 miles of electrical wiring. The order of the day included a band concert on the Attleboro Common followed by a parade from the center of town.
A witness described the opening night by saying: "With the coming of the dark, Dr. Solomon's dream sprang to life in a great blaze of electrical splendor; 1,800 electric lights outlined the exterior of the building, while an immense searchlight mounted on the roof threw its slender, graceful finger of light over four miles."
In 1919, when the Methodist Church purchased it, the name was changed to Attleboro Springs Sanatarium, due to the natural springs on the grounds and it was under that name that it shut down in 1938.
In 1942 the La Salette missionaries bought the property for use as a major seminary. The building was an Attleboro landmark until the tragic night of November 5, 1999 when it suffered a major fire killing one preist over on sabbatical from England. The building was later torn down and forgotton by many.

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I edited the article above so it would make sense and so it would have proper english. You can find pictures from the fire at the web address below.

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.vietnamveteranministers.org/ourlady.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.vietnamveteranministers.org/fire.htm&h=309&w=300&sz=9&hl=en&start=2&tbnid=NeDbT-pENn4xlM:&tbnh=117&tbnw=114&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dlasalette%2Bfire%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26rlz%3D1T4GGLR_enUS212US212

There wasn't much left at all and its a hard subject to research, but I did the best I could. Here are some photos from my trip to try and find some reminants of the building.