In partnership with the Maine Memory Network Maine Memory Network

Maine History Online

Maine History Online

A Maine Historical Society Website

Header Graphic

Institutional Care: From 'Feeble-Minded' to 'Disabled'

Hill Farm, New Gloucester, ca. 1937

Hill Farm, New Gloucester, ca. 1937

Item 25636 info
New Gloucester Historical Society

When the Maine School for the Feeble-Minded opened, the "patients" lived at Hill Farm on the New Gloucester property.

As the population of the facility grew rapidly, so did the building of large dormitories.

Gray and Staples halls were the first dorms. Planners had thought residents would live in small units, but that was not practical due to the ever-growing number of residents.