Returning to San Haven Sanatorium

North Dakota law created the North Dakota Tuberculosis Sanitarium in 1909 (S. L. 1909, Ch. 137) to care for persons afflicted with tuberculosis. Originally known as the North Dakota Tuberculosis Sanitarium (later Sanatorium), the hospital was governed by a Board consisting of the Governor, the Superintendent of the State Board of Health, a member of the Public Health Laboratory, and two members appointed by the Governor. In 1911, the governing Board chose Dunseith in Rolette County as the home for this facility. The choice of Dunseith on the south slope of the Turtle Mountains was selected because of the higher altitude, less snowfall, drier atmosphere, and favorable conditions for patients with tuberculosis.
State resources did not cover the all of the costs for maintaining the facilities at San Haven and questions concerning adequate care of the developmentally disabled arose. This brought about a lawsuit in 1980 between the North Dakota Association for Retarded Citizens and the State of North Dakota. The court-ordered changes modernized the custodial system and gave the developmentally disabled residents an opportunity to live in their own communities. In December of 1987 San Haven State Hospital closed. The facility stood vacant in 1989 and the legislature in 1991 authorized the director of the Office of Management and Budget to sell, lease, exchange, or transfer the title of San Haven properties. In 1992 the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Tribe purchased from the State of North Dakota the San Haven property.

Source: State Historical Society of North Dakota

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