Glen Lake Children's Camp facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Glen Lake Children's Camp
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One of the cabins at Glen Lake Children's Camp.
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 Location in Minnesota
Location in the United States
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| Location | Eden Prairie, Minnesota |
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| Built | 1925 |
| Architect | Sund & Dunham |
| NRHP reference No. | 99000932 |
| Added to NRHP | August 5, 1999 |
The Glen Lake Children's Camp was once a special place for kids who had a serious illness called tuberculosis. It was part of a larger hospital complex, the Glen Lake Sanatorium, located near Minnetonka and Eden Prairie, Minnesota. Even though most of the main hospital buildings were taken down in 1993, the children's camp stayed. It's the only known camp left in Minnesota that was built specifically for children with tuberculosis. This camp shows the kind and generous efforts of its founders, George H. and Leonora Christian. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on August 5, 1999, which means it's an important historical site.
Contents
What Was the Glen Lake Children's Camp?
The Glen Lake Children's Camp was a unique place designed to help young people get better from tuberculosis. This illness was a big problem in Minnesota in the early 1900s. Many people got sick, and it was hard to treat. The camp offered a safe and caring environment for children to recover. It was a special part of the larger Glen Lake Sanatorium, which was a hospital for people with tuberculosis.
Understanding Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, often called TB, was a very serious disease that affected the lungs. It could spread easily from person to person. Before modern medicines, people with TB often needed to rest in special hospitals called sanatoriums. These places were usually in quiet, clean areas with fresh air, which was thought to help patients heal. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, thousands of Minnesotans died from TB. This led to the creation of special hospitals to care for those who were sick.
How the Camp Started
The idea for the children's camp came from George H. and Leonora Christian. Leonora Christian was very dedicated to fighting tuberculosis. In 1906, she started a summer camp in Minneapolis for kids with the illness. This camp moved to Glenwood Park (now Theodore Wirth Park) in 1909. Nurses from the Visiting Nurses Association helped run it.
By 1925, the nurses could no longer manage the camp. That's when the Children's Aid Society stepped in. This group was founded by George H. Christian in 1916. They offered to build a permanent camp for children. The Glen Lake Sanatorium agreed to provide the land and help manage the new camp. So, the Glen Lake Children's Camp officially opened its doors on June 12, 1925.
The Camp's Later Years
In the 1940s, a big change happened: new medicines called antibiotics were discovered. These medicines made it much easier to treat tuberculosis. Because of this, the need for sanatoriums and special camps began to decrease. The Glen Lake Children's Camp stopped operating in 1950.
The larger Glen Lake Sanatorium continued to care for patients for a while longer. The last tuberculosis patient left the sanatorium in 1976. In 1993, most of the sanatorium buildings were taken down. However, the children's camp buildings were saved. Today, much of the land around the old sanatorium is a golf course. The children's camp itself is still used! It is leased to an organization called True Friends and operated by the Eden Wood Center, continuing to serve young people.
