Modern Woodmen of America, a fraternal and financial organization, chose an area, then known as Monument Park, nine miles northwest of Colorado Springs as the site for its tuberculosis sanatorium. The facility, which had its own dairy and cows, treated over 12,000 patients (all male) from the years 1909 to 1947. Its post office was in operation from January of 1912 to January of 1949.
Note the rows of octagonal huts designed by a local doctor to resemble teepees. It’s interesting to note that, following the sanatorium’s closure, the huts made their way into Colorado Springs, where they were put to new use. Please check out photos of these huts at https://www.google.com/search?source=univ&tbm=isch&q=Tuberculosis+Huts+%E2%80%93+The+Neatest+Little+Backyard+Treasures&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjE4K3EzfDyAhXOCTQIHWBgCOkQjJkEegQIBRAC&biw=1536&bih=750#imgrc=VRVyoCtwSI1FSM .
REFERENCES:
- “Colorado Post Offices 1859 – 1989,” by Bauer, Ozment & Willard, 1990, published by the Colorado Railroad Museum.
- “Modern Woodmen of America History” at http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/modern-woodmen-of-america-history/
- Wikipedia at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_Woodmen_of_America
