MacLachlan Sanitarium

Dr. Charles H. MacLachlan was born in 1845 in Perth County, Ontario, the son of Alexander and Clamina MacLachlan.^[3] He later moved to Pennsylvania, and there married Sarah E. Peters in 1871. Maclachlan was an early proponent of "physiological therapeutics," a treatment of chronic diseases without the use of medication.^[2] He studied at Juttners Physiological Institute in Cincinnati, then moved to Seville Township in 1883. There, he constructed a sanitarium as a facility to treat chronic diseases such as tuberculosis, rheumatism, and nerve and skin disease. The facility also served as a local hospital. MacLachlan slowly built the establishment into a thriving medical practice, and in 1908 added a main section to the facility.^[2]

The structure was used as a sanitarium until MacLachlan's death in 1920.^[2] Afterward, it was used as a boardinghouse, bar, restaurant, dancehall, and private residence.

The Charles H. MacLachlan Sanitarium consists of two attached sections: a small single-story wood-framed structure built in 1883 and a larger two-story fieldstone structure built in 1908.^[2] The 1883 section is clad with clapboards and sits on a stone pad; it has a gable roof and double hung sashwindows. The 1908 section is constructed of uncoursed fieldstone, sitting on a stone pad and topped with a hip roof. A deep veranda spans the front of the building and wraps around one corner. The veranda has support columns and a balustrade constructed of fieldstone. The windows of the structure are surrounded with slightly arced stone frames.^[2]