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Page last updated April 24, 2008
"Tranquille" is the old King Edward VII tuberculosis sanatorium on the north side of Kamloops Lake west of Kamloops. It is a fascinating collection of buildings, established, I think, in 1911 by the provincial government--the same McBride government, with Henry Esson Young as minister of health, that created the mental hospital Essondale, now known as Riverview, in Coquitlam). It was very much a self-contained agrarian community, with its own power-generating system, in its early years. The dozens of buildings dotted around it are in the styles typical of government architecture from the 1910s through the 1950s. The CNR mainline crosses in the foreground.The property has been sold [2004], as I understand it, to Ed Nielsen, 250 371-7719, who is exploring redevelopment/resort/retention opportunities.
Notes from Marilyn Bueckert in Ashcroft [2008] about researching former Tranquille residents:
First of all, Darie Collins in the Cemetery Department in Kamloops is a very helpful lady as is Elizabeth Duckworth at the Kamloops Museum.
The Cemetery was moved from the Provincial Home site (Tranquille) in the early 1960s. Unfortunately the provincial government was not that careful with its records.
The bodies were reburied in two long trenches in their coffins in the adjoining Old Mans' Cemetery at 6th and Douglas in Kamloops. That is the northwest corner of the cemetery. This was apparently for the poor and unclaimed persons. Not very nice, is it? Individual graves are not marked and there is no record of who is buried actually, in each spot. The city is planning to build a memorial wall at some point and for $400 you can put the person's name on a memorial plaque.
An intriguing set of photos about Tranquille: www.urbantekniques.com:80/tranquil.htm
A search link that will help to connect with official Tranquille correspondence: http://search.bcarchives.gov.bc.ca/
Note from Melinda Iverson: I am wondering if you have any idea how I would get OLD information on my deceased ancestory who (according to my information) spent 12 years at Tranquille, ending in 1941. His name was Frederick "Fred" Maxwell GRIFFIN b. April 15 1890 d. March 1941 He passed away in March of 1941 and is my great grandfather, his son and my grandfather (Edward Joseph GRIFFIN) has also passed away and my mother Madeleine Melanie Myrtle GRIFFIN, does not know very much information that can help me. We do know that he was in a Sanatarium that had an extensive farming facility and "practically ran the farm...". I guess he had a gift for farming. Do you know who I could contact to access the archives of Tranquille and confirm his admittance and attain copies of his medical records???
A Gowen-Sutton postcard from c. 1915. Thanks to Rob Skinner of Pescadero, California, for sending it along.
The King Edward VII sanatorium at Tranquille--photo from British Columbia Magazine, June 1912
Note from Carole Vainio: I live in Kamloops and have been out a couple of times to see the Tranquille site. Unfortunately it's no longer accessible. They did use it to film a movie at a few years back with Harrison Ford in it though. Would be nice if they could come to a decision about the site and bring it back to a functional property.
There was a book about Tranquille which was called "A Whole Little City by Itself" and can be found at www.plateaupress.com/tranquille.htm
| Earlier notes from Marilyn
Bueckert in
Ashcroft: I found this page while looking for information
on a deceased relative who died at Tranquille in the late
1930s. Do you have any idea where "unclaimed" deceased
persons were buried then? The lady in question was from an Ojibway
tribe, probably in Winnipeg but was brought to Tranquille when she
contracted tuberculosis. A cousin wants to find her grave and honour
this poor lady who was so badly treated by her husband. A few days later: I found my missing relative. Her last name had been put down as Agnes, not Angus. Anyway, if anyone else inquires, the caskets at Tranquille were moved to a trench dug in where 6th Avenue Cemetery is now. The bad news is that no one is allowed to place a headstone there! And furthermore: That is fine but in place of the last line, you might mention that although headstones are not allowed, next year a memorial wall will be built and for around $400 families can have a bronze plaque mounted there. From Greg Reeve: I am 41 and I live in Vancouver Canada...3 years I lived in Kamloops..having always been deeply interested in the history of abandoned buildings ( tb hospitals etc.). My friend Ashley and myself drove out to Tranquille Hospital oneday just for the fun of it... I knew it had been closed for quite some time and the idea of sneaking around the place was irresistable. Ashley was too scared to get out of the car so I went exploring. My camera wouldnt work ( its on my phone ), I was so choked... The things I saw from old medical equipment rusting away...an operating room with drains blood and stuff, rusted wheel chairs...toys... I was though I had stepped through a portal in time. I was gone probably about 90 minutes when Ashley started beeping the horn, she wanted to go home. Its a creepy place complete with weird underground tunnels...There is a security shack there but if the was security...they weren't around. |
