Tuberculosis, also known as “white death” or consumption, is a bacterial disease that mainly affects the lungs. Symptoms include fever, fatigue, and severe cough (often with mucus or blood). Historically, millions of people died from this disease before the development of modern medical treatments.
Sanatoriums were one such method for controlling the spread of tuberculosis. Fairview Sanatorium, located in north Normal on Main Street, opened in 1919. The conception and construction of the building was led by the Board of Supervisors (today’s McLean County Board). The Supervisors then appointed a Board of Directors to run the facility.
The sanatorium and its Board of Directors received assistance from the McLean County Tuberculosis Association (initially known as the Anti-Tuberculosis Society, or Association). Florence Fifer Bohrer—who would become the first female State Senator in Illinois when elected in 1924—led the Association in its early years (Fifer Bohrer had daughter who contracted tuberculosis).
In 1961, the taxpayer-funded McLean County TB Care & Treatment Board assumed primary responsibility for the sanitorium and combating tuberculosis. The sanatorium closed its doors in 1965, though the McLean County Tuberculosis Association continued its efforts as a branch of the National Tuberculosis Association. In 1973, the Tuberculosis Association changed its name to the American Lung Association.