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Staying Solvent: The Business of TB Treatment

Letter concerning Estes Nichols' resignation, 1915

Letter concerning Estes Nichols' resignation, 1915

Item 23587 info
Maine State Archives

In 1915, the Maine Legislature passed a bill authorizing the state to buy the Maine State Sanatorium in Hebron and a privately operated facility in Fairfield.

They were to be renamed the Western Maine and Central Maine sanatoriums. A new facility was to be built in Presque Isle and named the Northern Maine Sanatorium.

When the state took over, Dr. Estes Nichols, the founder of the sanatorium, resigned.

The state bought the property for $15,000 on Oct. 5, 1915. The land, buildings and equipment were valued at $208,097.

The state set the treatment fee at $5 a week. The financial challenges continued.