In 1943, the United States Army built barracks at this site on the south shore of Clearwater Lake, northeast of The Pas, near the present-day The Pas Airport. In 1945, the facility was sold to the federal Department of National Health and Welfare and converted into the Clearwater Lake Indian Hospital (later known as the Clearwater Lake Sanatorium) operated by the Sanatorium Board of Manitoba. Its purpose was to diagnose and treat Indigenous children and adults with tuberculosis. Additions and alterations to the facility in 1947 were designed by the Winnipeg architectural firm of Northwood and Chivers.
The hospital closed in February 1965 and some 50 remaining patients were transferred to the Ninette Sanatorium. The facility was later demolished. Only the concrete foundations and sidewalks of some buildings and a water tower remain at the site.
Aerial view of the former Clearwater Lake Indian Hospital site (November 2025)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough
Concrete sidewalk at the former Clearwater Lake Indian Hospital site (November 2025)
Source: Gordon GoldsboroughSite Coordinates (lat/long): N53.97593, W101.08386
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Mile 6 Cemetery (Opaskwayak Cree Nation)
Manitoba Organization: Sanatorium Board of Manitoba / Manitoba Lung Association
Manitoba Business: Northwood and Chivers / Northwood Chivers and Casey
Historic Sites of Manitoba: St. Peter Dynevor Anglican Rectory / Dynevor Indian Hospital / St. John’s Cathedral Boys’ School (1147 Breezy Point Road, RM of St. Andrews)
“X-ray equipment flown to school,” Winnipeg Free Press, 12 February 1946, page 12.
“Forty thousand x-rayed for tuberculosis,” Winnipeg Tribune, 26 June 1946, page 18.
Tenders [Clearwater Lake Indian Hospital], Winnipeg Tribune, 24 January 1947, page 31.
“Clearwater Hospital closing this month,” The Pas Herald, 3 February 1965, page 1.
“Thur' blu' Clearwater,” The Pas Herald, 8 January 1969, page 3.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 11 November 2025
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