The Fallon Sanitarium

Those of you who regularly read this column know that I like to page through the vintage editions of the Fallon newspapers preserved by the Churchill County Museum and Archives. Lately, I have spent quite a bit of time looking over newspapers published 100 years ago, in 1925. The advertisements draw my eyes as often as do the headlines, and I was attracted particularly to an ad for the “Fallon Sanitarium,” publicizing medical care and treatment.

In my mind, a sanitarium, in general, is a retreat for sufferers of chronic diseases like tuberculosis, but the ads implied that the Fallon Sanitarium had a broader mission. Thanks to information provided by Bunny Corkill and Julie King, in their 2015 ‘MuseNews’ article entitled “Medical Care in Churchill County (1860-1950),” I learned the Fallon Sanitarium was, indeed, established to provide wide-ranging medical care and rehabilitation. Its founder, Julius H. Miller, arrived in Churchill County with a group of friends from Iowa in 1887 and he later “entered Pacific Union College at Healdsburg, Calif., taking a four-year ministerial course that included a two-year nursing class that trained him to holistically care for the sick and to perform minor surgery.” 

Miller returned to Fallon, and with his wife, Emma Georginia Stockton, began to fulfill a life-long dream of caring for the poor and treating the uncurable. The Fallon Sanitarium opened in 1909 with 30 rooms “fitted up” at 2120 South Allen Road (currently the location of Hiskett & Sons). All five of the Miller children were born there. In 1915, a fire destroyed the original structure, but Miller immediately built a 10 room “fireproof” replacement and developed plans to expand to a 52-room hospital. One addition he completed was a 180-foot glass enclosed sunporch, which allowed his patients to take in the warmth and healing power of the sun. 

The newspaper ads detailed the many medical services offered at the Sanitarium: Hydrotherapy — Dietetics — Medicine — Surgery. Dr. Miller liked to administer to the soul as well as to the body, “believing that people can be cured through the gospel’s truth.” He also served as a deacon of the Adventist church, and for many years was appointed to care for Churchill County’s indigents. The Sanitarium was open to any other surgeon or doctor, regardless of creed, who wished to treat patients there. 

Miller’s dream dissolved in the late 1920’s when he lost the County indigent contract because his advertised “hydrotherapy” (or hot water) treatments flew in the face of “modern” prescribed practices. His private funding also dwindled, and he lost the Sanitarium property.  

Dr. Miller passed away on June 19, 1941, he is buried in the Fallon Cemetery. Emma reportedly remarried and died at age 98 in Napa, Calif. 

There is no doubt that Dr. Miller had a humanitarian spirit, a big heart, and a gift for healing. In my opinion, he deserves an honored place in Fallon’s history.

Also included in my correspondence with Bunny Corkill is the official, detailed recipe for an Atlasta Good Beef Sandwich, as created by our own National Sandwich Queen, Helen Millward (see Postcards, “Fallon Post,” August 22, 2025).

                                            Atlasta Good Beef Sandwich

• ½ cup dairy sour cream
• 1 tablespoon onion soup mix                                                   
• 1 teaspoon prepared horseradish, well-drained
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Dash of pepper
• 12 slices cold roast prime rib of beef, sliced thin
• 8 slices Russian rye bread
•   4 lettuce leaves
•  4 slices garlic dill pickle

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