On Sunday afternoon I visited a place called Pineland. It was listed on website of the Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands, seemed interesting and was close. Upon arrival I realized that the place was some sort of a campus with sprawling grounds. I picked up a trail map at a visitor’s center and got directions to the trail-head. I hiked for about 2 hours on a mix of cross country ski trails, walking paths and the occasional country road. The grounds were full with wondrous areas; the remnants of a simple ski tow on a now wooded slope, pristine barns and greenhouses, rolling pastures and a campus. After this fantastic walk, which by the way I hope to ski this winter, I visited again the visitor’s center where I spoke with the woman on duty. As I had begun to suspect, the grounds were of a former mental hospital, and a storied one at that. I purchased and have begun to read the book called Pineland’s Past, which is a fairly honest look at the history of the institution. Originally called the “Maine School for the Feeble Minded,” the school’s third superintendant, Dr. Stephen E. Vosburgh stated to the Maine Medical Association in 1925:

There is an amazing lack of correct information regarding the subnormal. Occasionally a well-disposed philanthropist believes certain subnormals of pleasing appearance who seem not too dull should never be sent to an institution. In general, the higher types of feeble-minded, such as the morons, are the most dangerous to the community and posterity.”

The book has been gripping as it presents accounts from various perspectives, oft quelled from period newspaper articles. I’m up to the 1950’s and the time line notes that the campus remained open until 1996. Click here for the quick version from the new center’s website – very interesting stuff! Many a treasure to be found if one looks.