Rhode Island State Sanatorium, Wallum Lake House – Burrillville RI

City:
Burrillville, RI

Site Type:
Education and Health, Civic Facilities, Hospitals and Clinics

New Deal Agencies:
Public Works Funding, Public Works Administration (PWA)

Started:
1936

Completed:
1938

Designer:
Howe & Church

Description

The Wallum Lake House was the Sanatorium’s main building. It is a large, 3-story brick building, in the Colonial Revival style. The State Sanatorium was originally used as a place for the treatment of tuberculosis patients. It was designed by the Providence architectural firm of Howe & Church during the mid-1930s. This building replaced the Sanatorium’s original building, which had opened in 1905. When it opened, Tuberculosis was the leading cause of death in Rhode Island.

The hospital became the Zambarano Unit of Eleanor Slater Hospital in 1994. It is now used primarily to care for long-term patients requiring intensive care.

The Bridgemen’s Magazine described the building’s construction in 1936:

“State, Emergency P. Wks. Cmn., State House, Providence, 3 story, basement, brick, steel, stone hospital and administration building, concrete found., at Wallum Lake Sanatorium. $1,080,000. P.W.A. project. Howe & Church, 1014 Turks Head Bldg., Providence, archts.”

Source notes

Page 72, The Bridgemen's Magazine (1936) https://www.bhddh.ri.gov/esh/zam.php

Site originally submitted by John P. on February 15, 2014.

Location Info


2090 Wallum Lake Road
Burrillville, RI 02859
Providence County

Coordinates: 41.997231, -71.76250

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12 comments on “Rhode Island State Sanatorium, Wallum Lake House – Burrillville RI

  1. Hi,
    What a great historic building,
    Trying to find out the status of the current slate roof restoration
    are the putting on the new slate now- and how is the progress,

    Thanks so Much,
    Bob

  2. Dorothy Kettlety

    I am working on my ancestry tree and trying to find out if my great grandfather was a patient at this sanatorium . I remember stories told that he had tuberculosis and they sent him away to a Sanatorium. He died in 1915. Do you have a patient list? His name was Demetria (James) Pignataro. He was either 35 or 38 when he died. I appreciate your time.
    Regards

  3. Dorothy A. Kettlety

    I am working on an ancestry tree for the Pignataro family, sometimes spelled with an “e” on the end not “o” I was told by my great grandmother when she was alive he went to a sanatorium for his tuberculosis. She told us all this story when she got tuberculosis because we all had to get vaccinated.
    I never knew him. He died in 1915. Is there an archive patient list that you have access to?
    I understand patient privacy, but under the circumstances these people have been dead for a very long time. I would love to document everything in their history.
    You could even just give me a yes or no answer and if he was a patient the dates he was there.
    His name was Demetrio Pignataro, but sometimes called James, lived at 9 Pierce Street Lane in Westerly, RI. 02892
    Thank you for your time

  4. Dotty Kettlety

    I am working on my ancestry tree and trying to find out if my great grandfather was a patient at this sanatorium . I remember stories told that he had tuberculosis and they sent him away to a Sanatorium. He died in 1915. Do you have a patient list? His name was Demetria (James) Pignataro. He was either 35 or 38 when he died. I appreciate your time.
    Regards
    I want to add his address was 9 Pierce Street Lane in Westerly, RI
    And that my great grandmother told me when she developed tuberculosis that we all needed to get the vaccine. I never met my great grandfather but I lived with her for a few years during my childhood. I just want to document everything correctly. Thank you for your time

  5. Kathleen Clement

    Dorothy Kettlety — In RI you can view a death record after 50 years (100 for birth and marriage). Try Ancestry.com or Family Search.com (the LDS site) and you may find a death listing. If the death is listed as being in Burrillville it’s pretty certain he was at the sanatorium. But Ancestry usually doesn’t have images of the original listings, because RI doesn’t provide much access.
    However, if you are in RI your best bet is, the RI Archives at 337 Westminster St, in Providence (up from Grace Church). You can ask the archivist to help you find the death record, all you need an approximate date of death and where (the sanatorium at Wallum Lake). Before 1920 the death will have been recorded in a book in the Burrillville Town Hall. Luckily most of these books have been placed on film (the original books are in city and town halls) and you can shoot a copy of the listing from the film loops. The Archivists are wonderful and will go out of their way to help. – Good Luck

  6. Kathleen, thank you for your informative response to Dorothy. I, too, wondered if there was any directory of inmates in the Wallum Lake Sanitorium throughout the tuberculosis period. My mother and brother were both incarcerated there from about 1944-1946 due to having tuberculosis. it was a very difficult time for patients, but I can’t seem to find the dates they were there.

  7. Judi doyle

    My grandfather died of tb in 1945 and I went there to take a ton of pics and see if I could get info. On him they still have a card on file in the hospital with his name and date of death on it. I wish I could have found out about his treatment plan.

  8. joseph simas

    My father awas there for a few years around 1950 for TB. The care was rest and sunlight , the ended up taken a lung out and sent him home. God bless that hospital there a lot of history there.

  9. Rosemary Duby

    2 of my aunts were receiving care for their tuberculosis. I know that one Aunt passed away at the age of 23. Eleanor Montecalvo and the Aunt that survived is Michelena Montecalvo. Are there any notes on which type of treatment they got. This was maybe in the 1940’s. Are there any photos of their ward and maybe them.

  10. Richard Harris

    Does the hospital have a record of patients that had received TB treatment from 1930 to 1940. I am trying to find out if TB was possibly why my father and his 4 siblings were separated and placed in foster care. My Father was born in 1927 and was placed in foster care at approximately 3 years of age.

  11. How do I find out what building my grandfather died in 1945 from tb also are they making this building for the homeless! Lots of people died there it would be really scary

  12. Julie Addison

    I am trying find information on a relative who was a nurse at the sanatorium. Her name is Lillian E King and she came from England in 1947.

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Contribute to this Site

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12 comments on “Rhode Island State Sanatorium, Wallum Lake House – Burrillville RI

  1. Hi,
    What a great historic building,
    Trying to find out the status of the current slate roof restoration
    are the putting on the new slate now- and how is the progress,

    Thanks so Much,
    Bob

  2. Dorothy Kettlety

    I am working on my ancestry tree and trying to find out if my great grandfather was a patient at this sanatorium . I remember stories told that he had tuberculosis and they sent him away to a Sanatorium. He died in 1915. Do you have a patient list? His name was Demetria (James) Pignataro. He was either 35 or 38 when he died. I appreciate your time.
    Regards

  3. Dorothy A. Kettlety

    I am working on an ancestry tree for the Pignataro family, sometimes spelled with an “e” on the end not “o” I was told by my great grandmother when she was alive he went to a sanatorium for his tuberculosis. She told us all this story when she got tuberculosis because we all had to get vaccinated.
    I never knew him. He died in 1915. Is there an archive patient list that you have access to?
    I understand patient privacy, but under the circumstances these people have been dead for a very long time. I would love to document everything in their history.
    You could even just give me a yes or no answer and if he was a patient the dates he was there.
    His name was Demetrio Pignataro, but sometimes called James, lived at 9 Pierce Street Lane in Westerly, RI. 02892
    Thank you for your time

  4. Dotty Kettlety

    I am working on my ancestry tree and trying to find out if my great grandfather was a patient at this sanatorium . I remember stories told that he had tuberculosis and they sent him away to a Sanatorium. He died in 1915. Do you have a patient list? His name was Demetria (James) Pignataro. He was either 35 or 38 when he died. I appreciate your time.
    Regards
    I want to add his address was 9 Pierce Street Lane in Westerly, RI
    And that my great grandmother told me when she developed tuberculosis that we all needed to get the vaccine. I never met my great grandfather but I lived with her for a few years during my childhood. I just want to document everything correctly. Thank you for your time

  5. Kathleen Clement

    Dorothy Kettlety — In RI you can view a death record after 50 years (100 for birth and marriage). Try Ancestry.com or Family Search.com (the LDS site) and you may find a death listing. If the death is listed as being in Burrillville it’s pretty certain he was at the sanatorium. But Ancestry usually doesn’t have images of the original listings, because RI doesn’t provide much access.
    However, if you are in RI your best bet is, the RI Archives at 337 Westminster St, in Providence (up from Grace Church). You can ask the archivist to help you find the death record, all you need an approximate date of death and where (the sanatorium at Wallum Lake). Before 1920 the death will have been recorded in a book in the Burrillville Town Hall. Luckily most of these books have been placed on film (the original books are in city and town halls) and you can shoot a copy of the listing from the film loops. The Archivists are wonderful and will go out of their way to help. – Good Luck

  6. Kathleen, thank you for your informative response to Dorothy. I, too, wondered if there was any directory of inmates in the Wallum Lake Sanitorium throughout the tuberculosis period. My mother and brother were both incarcerated there from about 1944-1946 due to having tuberculosis. it was a very difficult time for patients, but I can’t seem to find the dates they were there.

  7. Judi doyle

    My grandfather died of tb in 1945 and I went there to take a ton of pics and see if I could get info. On him they still have a card on file in the hospital with his name and date of death on it. I wish I could have found out about his treatment plan.

  8. joseph simas

    My father awas there for a few years around 1950 for TB. The care was rest and sunlight , the ended up taken a lung out and sent him home. God bless that hospital there a lot of history there.

  9. Rosemary Duby

    2 of my aunts were receiving care for their tuberculosis. I know that one Aunt passed away at the age of 23. Eleanor Montecalvo and the Aunt that survived is Michelena Montecalvo. Are there any notes on which type of treatment they got. This was maybe in the 1940’s. Are there any photos of their ward and maybe them.

  10. Richard Harris

    Does the hospital have a record of patients that had received TB treatment from 1930 to 1940. I am trying to find out if TB was possibly why my father and his 4 siblings were separated and placed in foster care. My Father was born in 1927 and was placed in foster care at approximately 3 years of age.

  11. How do I find out what building my grandfather died in 1945 from tb also are they making this building for the homeless! Lots of people died there it would be really scary

  12. Julie Addison

    I am trying find information on a relative who was a nurse at the sanatorium. Her name is Lillian E King and she came from England in 1947.

Join the Conversation

Please note:

  • We are not involved in the management of New Deal sites and have no information about visits, hours or rentals.
  • This page shows all the information we have for this site; if you have new information or photos to share, click the button above.

Your email address will not be published, shared, or sold.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.