Dr. Forster like that of Dr. Solly, was a consumptive survivor. At the age of 23, a medical student graduate, Forster, was admitted to Saranac Lake Sanatorium. Once healed, Forster took on responsibilities of his physician and began teaching at various medical schools to include Yale and John Hopkins. Forster was credited, like that of Gardiner, to believe in the healing qualities of sunlight and fresh air. Forster, intrigued, began researching and looking into sanatoriums in the Pikes Peak area. On June 20
th, 1910, Forster purchased the Cragmor Sanatorium for $50,000.
Dr. Forster had high hopes for the future of Cragmor. He was said to have been a huge admirer of Dr. Solly and his vision for Cragmor to be a sanatorium for those with means. Dr. Forster immediately began preparations and planning to take Cragmor to a new level and make Cragmor the dream that Dr. Edwin Solly intended it to be. It took Forster 4 years to complete the main building addition. During this time plans were drawn up and re-drawn up multiple times, until Forster finally decided on a building style that fit in the building budget.
Dr. Forster was the head physician for Cragmor and also the director of operations for Cragmor. He also helped with the sanatoriums book, small duties around the grounds, as well as assisted his staff whenever necessary doing minor things. In the early years he struggled managing Cragmor and left patients and staff with minimal guidance. Dr. Forster was a very vocal man that made his opinions loud and very much known. He wasn’t the doctor with the best bedside manner and had strong opinions on questionable behavior. He was very much against gambling and behaviors of the sort. However, he left patients, nurses and other doctors to live their own lives, assuming it was not affecting his establishment.
Forster was called to serve in WWI in spring of 1917 with the United States Marines. He was a Lieutenant Colonel and during the War was placed in charge of the evacuation hospital in France. Here he met and married his wife, Mademoiselle Liane, on May 1, 1918. The two had a child together, who passed away not long after it was born. The child suffocated during the night when being held in bed by his mother. This event left a large strain on his marriage and combined with the war, was a turning point in his mental wellbeing.
While serving with the Marines, Forster left Dr. Gerald Webb in charge of Cragmor as both head of administration and physician duties. Unfortunately, during the war, Cragmor saw a large decline in patients and nurses. This forced Cragmor away from its goal of being an establishment for the “wealthy”. Due to financial hardships from the War, Cragmor was forced to admit any and all patients regardless of the social or financial standings.
Forster and wife returned to Cragmor after the war in the early 1920s. The family was placed in a living cottage on the grounds of Cragmor. His family at this point included wife and two daughters. It was a good time for Cragmor and the sanatorium flourished with Forster at the helm. While Cragmor was finally on a path that was intended by Dr. Edwin Solly through the efforts of Forester, soon his emotional and mental wellbeing was slowly declining and he was becoming more and more erratic as time went on.
In the 1930s the United States was hit by the Great Depression and Cragmor saw a massive impact because of it. In 1936 Forster was forced to file for Bankruptcy. The sanatorium was bailed out and no longer was privately owned by Forster. He did however stay head of administration and head physician until mid-1940s. By the 1940s Forster’s debilitating mental disorder, had taken Cragmor into a dark time one from which they would never recover. The buildings had become run down and dangerous, rats and other creatures infested many building and living facilities and care were unsanitary and dangerous. Forster was forced by the Cragmor Foundation to step down and give up all involvement with Cragmor. Forster self-admitted himself to a mental institution in 1947, where he remained for several weeks. Forster returned to Cragmor in an attempt to get re-instated, unfortunately Forster’s days at Cragmor were over and he was denied reinstatement.
Dr. Alexius M. Forster passed away on March 23rd, 1954 at the age of 73.
