Sioux San Hospital - Rapid City South Dakota

​The Haunted Sioux San Hospital

The History

The Sioux San Hospital in Rapid City, South Dakota was once a boarding school and then a sanitarium.  Throughout it's history many have died there and are still thought to roam the premises to this day. Around 1898, a boarding school was constructed in Rapid City for Native American children so that they could learn how to read, write, and learn more about English culture. It was called the Rapid City Indian School or School of the Hills due to the close vicinity of The Black Hills. However, most who were sent there were not happy to be there, being "forced" to learn a new way of life.

Allegedly, some of these children where mistreated when they tried to run away and others were outright neglected, and it is rumored that some where even beaten to death and buried right there on the premises of the school.  The boarding school was eventually closed in 1933.

It was a few years later that due to the wide spread epidemic of tuberculosis that hit the country, a hospital was opened specifically for Native Americans which was known as the Sioux Sanitarium.  Treatment for TB patients was very crude and experimental.  Most often resulted in a horrible death.  Most patients died there in the hospital any many who had no close relatives were buried there on-site.  After the advancement in medicine brought on a cure for tuberculosis, the hospital closed it's doors during the 1960s.

The hospital building was later remodeled and became the Rapid City Indian Health Service Hospital or as many local people refer to it, still using a derivative of the old name, the Sioux San Hospital. Preservationists are trying to save the building from being demolished to make a state-of-the-art medical complex. The building has remained empty for several years until it was converted into a public hospital and named the Sioux San Hospital (derived from sanitarium). The hospital still has numerous unmarked graves around the campus, not only of the TB patients, but also of Native American children. No one has dug to find the bodies yet. It has currently been renovated into a public hospital. Even though it is partially modern facility today, but yet its historical remnants remain from it's documented hauntings.

The Hauntings

In this active facility today, remains the site of unmarked graves of the children and patients who died there.  Many claim that their presence of these souls can still be felt as well as seen in the hallways of the hospital.  Some have heard the sounds of children crying when no children are around. Orbs are very common through out the hospital and near by grounds, but the most scary encounter to be had here is the sighting of the apparition of a Native American child, or children. They have been seen on a number of occasions walking round the outside of the building for a few seconds before fading away, always looking down at the floor as if to show how unhappy they are.

ADDRESS
Sioux San Hospital
3200 Canyon Lake Drive
Rapid City, SD 57702


Visit their WEBSITE

Phone
(605) 355-2500



Abandoned properties and buildings are everywhere and they can be quite fascinating ... and as likely, dangerous.  Some of the buildings are not structurally sound or may have inhabitants that can cause risk (rodents, animals or even homeless persons). Never explore alone. Always use good judgment!  If the building is posted as no trespassing you should gain permission before exploring.

References

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