Connecting Columbia Union Seventh-day Adventists

Image from the North American Division

Ellen G. White Lodged Here

Story by Shannon Kelly / Image from the North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists

Iowa Circle Sanitarium was the location of the original Washington Branch Sanitarium and Treatment Rooms and a feeder to the Washington Sanitarium in Takoma Park, Md. Originally constructed in 1877 by Ulysses S. Grant, the 18th president of the U.S., the sanitarium is just a short walk from the White House.

The building was eventually remodeled into an Adventist sanitarium containing about 30 rooms and an outdoor park space where patients could get sun and fresh air. En route to a General Conference session in Takoma Park, Ellen G. White lodged there May 9, 1905.

The Columbia Union Conference—which covers the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States—is home to many locations where people of the Seventh-day Adventist faith made (and continue to make) history. But how did the greater Washington, D.C., area become a church hub in the first place? And where can one find impactful, lesser-known historic sites within the Columbia Union territory?

Take a road trip with historians Michael Campbell, North American Division director of Archives, Statistics, and Research, and Phillip Warfield, a Ph.D. candidate studying United States 20th Century History at Howard University (D.C.), as they introduce—or for some, reintroduce—several interesting and exciting Adventist spots you and your family can visit this summer. So, grab your hiking boots and sunscreen because we’re off!

Find more details and history in our online articles!

Add new comment

Image CAPTCHA