[3] It started in 1866 on health principles advocated by the Seventh-day Adventist Church and from 1876 to 1943 was managed by Dr. John Harvey Kellogg.

At its zenith, the sprawling health and wellness complex of more than 30 buildings situated on 30 acres accommodated near thirteen hundred guests.

Following the disfellowshipping of Dr. Kellogg in 1907, the physician stated that he and his employees were "independents" who "did not belong to any church"[6] and that the Sanitarium promoted his theory of "biologic living" based on Adventist principles.

The leaders of the church, including Ellen's husband James S. White agreed, and construction began on the Western Health Reform Institute, which would later become the Battle Creek Sanitarium.

In 1928, Battle Creek Sanitarium expanded with a 14-story high-rise with 265 guest rooms, called the "Towers," facing Champion Street.

Owned by the Seventh-day Adventists, the Battle Creek Sanitarium continued to operate as a psychiatric facility through the 1970s but closed its doors by the end of the decade.

In 1986, the radial wings of the main building (the solarium, gymnasium and swimming pool) were razed, and the Sanitarium entered into the final chapter of its history, which formally ended in 1993.

Kellogg stated that "at the Battle Creek Sanitarium, the number of persons employed is never less than eight hundred, and often rises in the busiest season to more than one thousand.

Celebrated American figures who visited the sanitarium (including Mary Todd Lincoln and Sojourner Truth) would influence and encourage enthusiasm for health and wellness among the general population.

He encouraged a low-fat, low-protein vegetarian diet with an emphasis on whole grains, fiber-rich foods, and most importantly, nuts.

Kellogg described the Sanitarium system as "a composite physiologic method comprising hydrotherapy, phototherapy, thermotherapy, electrotherapy, mechanotherapy, dietetics, physical culture, cold-air cure, and health training."

"[23] The Battle Creek system utilized both hot and cold water, and correlated the use of hydrotherapy with other therapeutic modalities.

Kellogg stated his belief that use of hot and cold applications would "profound reflex effects," including vasodilation and vasoconstriction.

Exercise included such components as postural, calisthetics, gymnastics, swimming, and passive methods such as mechanotherapy, vibrotherapy, mechanical massage.

[26] Kellogg stated that exposure to the sun and open air was fundamentally important for health, including stimulation of the skin.

[27] Patients were encouraged to sleep in the open air, and a range of outdoor activities were facilitated, from wood-chopping to basketball and other games, walking, trotting, and swimming lessons.

[32] Battle Creek Sanitarium is depicted in the American 1994 film The Road to Wellville by Alan Parker, with British actor Anthony Hopkins playing a highly fictionalized Dr. J.H.