'The Well Country': 'New Mexican' covered state's history as haven for tuberculosis patients

Architect John Gaw Meem left an indelible impact on the built environment of his adopted hometown of Santa Fe, but it wasn’t architecture that first led him to the City Different.

Widely considered the father of Pueblo Revival style, the Brazilian-born Meem contracted tuberculosis and moved to Santa Fe in 1920 to recuperate at Sunmount Sanatorium, one of thousands of patients who came to New Mexico in the 19th and 20th centuries out of the belief that the state’s high altitude, sunny climate and clean, dry air would grant them relief from their symptoms.

A contagious disease caused by a bacterium in the lungs, pulmonary tuberculosis — also referred to as “consumption” and “TB” — was once the leading cause of death in the United States and lacked an effective treatment until the antibioti