Fort San Sanitarium

Before I tell you some of the tails at this old Sanitarium let me clear up some common misconceptions about Fort San...

• Fort San is an old hospital for tuberculosis patients, not a mental hospital. It was home to many patients with Tuberculosis, people ranged from children to elderly people. 
• Many people died at Fort San as with most sanitariums but there was no crematorium. 
• The building at the back of fort san with the giant brick stack is part of the power plant, as is common with institutions this age - It is not part of crematorium. If anyone has seen a crematorium the stacks are quite tiny and much wider.
• The site does have an old morgue which was turned into the kitchen for the conference center. The bodies from fort san were removed through the back door by the morgue.

 Fort San was opened in 1917 when tuberculosis infections were increasing in the province and there was no cure. It was a self sufficient facility including a power house, gardens, livestock, housing for staff, library and more. People that lived at Fort San suffered daily, were isolated from society and could only wait to die. Many people suffered and died at this location including some staff.

When tuberculosis became less of a threat the province shut down the sanitariums. While most were demolished around the province Fort San was re-purposed, first for a summer school of the arts which ran until 1991. It was then a HMCS Qu'Appelle Cadet Summer Training Camp and then converted into a conference center. Echo Valley Conference Center, as it was know, was a government run facility which was based in the old historic sanitarium. The facility was run until 2004 at which time the government decided to close its doors and put it up for sale. The property was bought by a developer with the promise of turning the site into condominiums. Today it sits abandoned, being vandalized and destroyed by the elements. The nursing houses have been demolished and another building was burnt down.

Now that you know the history of Fort San let me tell you about the other side of it. The building may be abandoned but it is anything but empty. This location is reported to me one of the most haunted places in Canada. Because of its rich and dark history it seems those who came here to die stayed around. There have been many accounts of paranormal activity in Fort San and investigations have been done.

The most common spirit seen is that of "Nurse Jane," a nurse who is seen moving form room to room down the hallways doing her job. She will not notice you but go about her business, dressed in a white uniform and small cap just doing her job, tending to those who are sick.

Other reports have been the sounds of wheelchairs and beds moving along the floor, footsteps down the halls, children's voices, cold spots, feelings of being watched, the spirit of a woman with a baby and the feeling of an evil presence. There have been so many experiences in this building it is no wonder that is it one of the most haunted places to visit. Each person seems to have a difference experience at this location whether seeing, feeling or being physically touched by a spirit you are bound to have an experience. With a range of residual spirits and intellectual spirits this location has a rich history that is clearly attached to the building.

For more information & pictures of Fort San Please visit:
http://quappelle.mendel.ca/en/fortsan/lifeandbreath/index.html
http://www.vanishedcompass.com/fort-san.html