On Friday, Jones presented the institute’s staff with a certificate from the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation recognizing the organization for the decades of scientific research it has been a part of in Saranac Lake.

Trudeau Institute is one of the longest-running businesses in Saranac Lake.

Jones said it is an important institution for the world, providing decades of research done for the scientific community on diseases like influenza, cancer, sepsis, Zika, COVID-19 and, to this day, tuberculosis.

“When it started here, they had hoped it wouldn’t be relevant today,” Jones said. “But, the consequences of the world. It still is.”

From left, Trudeau Institute Director of Institutional Advancement and Government Relations Elisabeth Cain, Brandee Reiley, President and Director William Reiley, state Assemblyman Billy Jones, honorary Trustee Dorothy Federman and COO Alex Maue hold a certificate designating the Trudeau Institute infectious disease research center on the Historic Business Preservation Registry on Friday. (Enterprise photo — Aaron Marbone)

The registry has a 50-year threshold for historic businesses. Trudeau Institute opened at its current location at 154 Algonquin Ave. in 1964. The building was built in 1963. But, technically, it is the continuation of the work at the Trudeau Sanatorium, formerly the Adirondack Cottage Sanitarium, which was founded in 1884.

The year before, Edward Livingston Trudeau — a doctor suffering from tuberculosis — came up here to die in an area he loved. But his health was restored. Trudeau attributed this to the fresh air, rest and clean living he got here. He built an experimental sanatorium on the side of Mount Pisgah, which drew tuberculosis sufferers from around the world, leading to the growth of Saranac Lake into what it is today and established scientific research as part of the local community and economy.

“(It was) the first laboratory in the United States dedicated exclusively to the study of tuberculosis, which laid the groundwork for the modern field of immunology,” according to the listing on the state registry. “The original sanitarium closed in 1954 after the introduction of antibiotics and decline of tuberculosis and in 1964, Dr. Trudeau’s grandson Dr. Francis B. Trudeau Jr established the Trudeau Institute.”

Dorothy Federman, an honorary trustee of the institute for 40 years, worked with her husband Jay and Dr. Frank Trudeau at his grandfather’s medical offices on the corner of Main and Church streets downtown from 1975 to 2017. She said it was encouraging to see the medical work continuing for decades in this town.

Next to the large research building sits “Little Red” — the first cottage built at the sanitarium, which was moved to the institute at its opening and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The state Historic Business Preservation Registry was established in 2020 through a bill Jones helped sponsor. It was expanded in 2023 to allow elected officials to nominate up to 10 businesses per term.

Trudeau Institute CEO Bill Reiley said he was contacted by Jones’ office last year about getting the institute on the registry. He’s personally proud of the work done there, and the history of the institute. Brandee Reiley, who is married to Bill, said the institute brings in many interesting and smart people to town to work and attracts active community members.

Trudeau Institute will be holding an open house on Aug. 1 from 2 to 4 p.m. where the public can see the campus, hear researchers speak about their work and learn more about the history of the institute.

To register for the open house, go to tinyurl.com/3nmfsabf.