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The Valmora Industrial Sanatorium was an active Tuberculosis Sanatorium during the beginning of the 20th century. Located in Watrous, Mora County, New Mexico, Valmora was originally founded by Dr. William T. Brown as the Valmora Ranch Sanatorium as a residence for TB patients.

History
In 1905, William T. Brown, M.D., brought land and established the Valmora Ranch Sanatorium as a residence for tuberculosis patients. Built 6000 feet above sea level on ranch land between the Mora River and Coyote Creek in Mora County, New Mexico, the Valmora Ranch was part of the modern sanatorium movement which isolated TB sufferers under controlled conditions that provided the benefits of higher and dryer altitudes, cleaner air, and abundant sunlight. Since no cure for tuberculosis was known, the sanatorium sought to arrest the disease while training patients for new lifestyles to include moderate exercise, rest, and nourishing food. In 1910, Dr. Brown reorganized Valmora as a non-profit corporation sponsored by a group of large corporations for their employees. Renamed Valmora Industrial Sanatorium, over the next ten years it became a somewhat self-sufficient community with a hospital, patient cottages, housing for medical and support staff, a dining hall, laundry, general store, post office, and a recreation center with a theater. Valmora had a diary herd, a poultry farm, and vegetable gardens. A large nearby spring provided its water, two generators provided electricity, and it eventually became a flag stop on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. Valmora weathered the Great Depression and World War II, but expanded its patient care to include other infectious and chronic diseases. In the 1950s, the sanatorium’s name was changed to Valmora Medical Center, the number of licensed hospital beds was reduced from 30 to 6, and the clinic physician began to offer a heart and chest clinic, a baby clinic, and saw patients at the Wagon Mound Health Center and the Montezuma Seminary. In 1956, sixteen cabins and the dining hall were separated and made available as a camping and educational center. From 1956 through 1965, the Episcopal Diocese of New Mexico and Southwest Texas used Valmora as a summer camp and conference center. The property was sold in 1991 and became Rancho Valmora, a non-profit residential treatment center and school for adolescents. In 1995, the area was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Valmora Sanatorium Historic District.

Treatment
Valmora approached treatment from a patient-centered perspective.

Archival Material
The papers of Dr. C.H. Gellenthien, and all the documents and photos he collected, are available through the Health Historical Collection at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Library and Informatics Center. Additionally, a sizable portion of the collection has been digitized and is available online through the New Mexico Digital Collections.