Northern Maine Sanitorium (former) – Presque Isle ME

City:
Presque Isle, ME

Site Type:
Education and Health, Civic Facilities, Hospitals and Clinics

New Deal Agencies:
Public Works Funding, Public Works Administration (PWA)

Started:
1938

Completed:
1939

Description

Tuberculosis hospitals were built in the state of Maine in the early part of the 20th century. 1,000 people a year died of tuberculosis in Maine before the advent of modern medicine. Following the success of private hospitals in Hebron & Fairfield Maine which were facing financial difficulty, the state took control. The Northern Maine Sanitorium was built in Presque Isle following the passing of a law in the Maine State Legislature April 9, 1921.

In 1938, the P.W.A. offered a grant of $7,739 for repairs or improvements which were completed in 1939.

The facilities at Hebron and Presque Isle were closed in 1959. Today, according to a local librarian, the Presque Isle buildings are privately owned and used as apartments.

Source notes

Local Source https://www.mainememory.net/sitebuilder/site/286/page/549/display National Archives: Record Group 135: Public Works Administration; Projects Control Division; Entry 52: Indices to Non-Federal Projects; Report No. 5: Status of All Completed Non-Federal Allotted Projects, page 6.

Site originally submitted by Andrew Laverdiere on November 19, 2014.

Location Info


164 Reach St
Presque Isle, ME 04769
Aroostook County

Coordinates: 46.701147, -67.976214

Contribute to this Site

We welcome contributions of additional information on any New Deal site.

Submit More Information or Photographs for this New Deal Site

14 comments on “Northern Maine Sanitorium (former) – Presque Isle ME

  1. June Woodward

    Is there a place to find death records or burial records from this institution? My grandfather ended his life with tuberculosis there. I have no dates, just a name and that he was buried
    at a Catholic Cemetery in Presque Isle. I would appreciate any information that you might be able to tell. Death date was probably early 1900’s. Thank you.

  2. Bernard J. Michaud

    I was there in the 50′ and would like to know where any info or record are

  3. DARLENE THERIAULT

    MY MOM HAD A SISTER ODELIA NADEAU MCGRAW WAS IN THE SANITORIUM AND PASSED AWAY THERE, SHE HAD TB. SHE WAS ONLY 19YRS OF AGE.

    PRESQUES ISLE TOWN OFFICE ONLY HAS THE CERTIFICATE OF DEATH AND NOTHING ABOUT WHERE SHE IS BURIED.

  4. DARLENE THERIAULT

    Closure: finally! Concerning the above statement regarding Odelia Nadeau McGraw. She is buried in what they call Paupers Field in Presque Isle, Maine, which means no headstone identifying her.

  5. I was about 5 years old when I stayed at the Northern Maine Sanatorium. This was around 1946-47. Being just a little boy I remember little boy things like walking into the movie projector room and somebody telling me to get out. At times a nurse would come around to the ward to give out cough medicine. This medicine was flavored so when we saw her we would start coughing. I remember riding back home to the Fairview Acres with my uncle Charles Dionne.
    Evidently I recovered from whatever disease I had but I missed school enough to have to stay back a year in school.
    My first years at school was at the Fairview Acres Office Building.

  6. Tammie Fowles

    Hi Richard,
    My mother (Brenda McDougal) as a child was also at the San at approximately the same time that you were. She died seven years ago at the age of seventy. I wish she would have told me more about her experiences at that time. I would love to know more about what it was like for you as a child living there in order to have more perspective regarding what it was like for her.

  7. Joe Gilbert

    I was there for about 8 months in the early 50’s, during the time Eisenhower was elected President. I remember seeing all the planes flying from Loring AFB. Thing I remember the most was before each meal, we were served a small dosage of cod liver oil and tomato juice! Ugh! We took all our meals at a mess hall. It actually wasn’t bad for most of us kids as we got to play outside much of the day and take a nap in the afternoon. And I think we got to see a movie every couple weeks.
    Used to get the beds rolling down the wards and hop on until we heard the nurses coming! They carried those wooden ping pong paddles without the ball and didn’t mind using them. It could have been worse as it was for a few children while I was there.

  8. Linda Sinclair

    Are any of the records for this sanitorium available. I believe my grandmother, Marie McCluskey died there in 1944. I believe her son, George McCluskey, age 10 was with her.
    Thanks in advance

  9. Colleen Cochran

    My grandmother, Isabel Cochran, was there and passed away in 1949 from TB before I was born. I have always wanted to find out anything I could about the facility, the medical care she received and which building she lived and died in.

  10. Linda Lizotte

    Where would we find information on residents both alive and dead when the place was closed. I have not been able to find the location of these records.

  11. Jennifer Helms Abrams

    My uncle died at a sanatorium in Maine at a young age. I don’t know which one and my mother, Nancy (Ford) Helms, has passed. She loved him dearly and never saw him again after he was admitted for TB to the sanitarium. 

Join the Conversation

Please note:

  • We are not involved in the management of New Deal sites and have no information about visits, hours or rentals.
  • This page shows all the information we have for this site; if you have new information or photos to share, click the button above.

Your email address will not be published, shared, or sold.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Contribute to this Site

We welcome contributions of additional information on any New Deal project site.

Submit More Information or Photographs for this New Deal Site

14 comments on “Northern Maine Sanitorium (former) – Presque Isle ME

  1. June Woodward

    Is there a place to find death records or burial records from this institution? My grandfather ended his life with tuberculosis there. I have no dates, just a name and that he was buried
    at a Catholic Cemetery in Presque Isle. I would appreciate any information that you might be able to tell. Death date was probably early 1900’s. Thank you.

  2. Bernard J. Michaud

    I was there in the 50′ and would like to know where any info or record are

  3. DARLENE THERIAULT

    MY MOM HAD A SISTER ODELIA NADEAU MCGRAW WAS IN THE SANITORIUM AND PASSED AWAY THERE, SHE HAD TB. SHE WAS ONLY 19YRS OF AGE.

    PRESQUES ISLE TOWN OFFICE ONLY HAS THE CERTIFICATE OF DEATH AND NOTHING ABOUT WHERE SHE IS BURIED.

  4. DARLENE THERIAULT

    Closure: finally! Concerning the above statement regarding Odelia Nadeau McGraw. She is buried in what they call Paupers Field in Presque Isle, Maine, which means no headstone identifying her.

  5. I was about 5 years old when I stayed at the Northern Maine Sanatorium. This was around 1946-47. Being just a little boy I remember little boy things like walking into the movie projector room and somebody telling me to get out. At times a nurse would come around to the ward to give out cough medicine. This medicine was flavored so when we saw her we would start coughing. I remember riding back home to the Fairview Acres with my uncle Charles Dionne.
    Evidently I recovered from whatever disease I had but I missed school enough to have to stay back a year in school.
    My first years at school was at the Fairview Acres Office Building.

  6. Tammie Fowles

    Hi Richard,
    My mother (Brenda McDougal) as a child was also at the San at approximately the same time that you were. She died seven years ago at the age of seventy. I wish she would have told me more about her experiences at that time. I would love to know more about what it was like for you as a child living there in order to have more perspective regarding what it was like for her.

  7. Joe Gilbert

    I was there for about 8 months in the early 50’s, during the time Eisenhower was elected President. I remember seeing all the planes flying from Loring AFB. Thing I remember the most was before each meal, we were served a small dosage of cod liver oil and tomato juice! Ugh! We took all our meals at a mess hall. It actually wasn’t bad for most of us kids as we got to play outside much of the day and take a nap in the afternoon. And I think we got to see a movie every couple weeks.
    Used to get the beds rolling down the wards and hop on until we heard the nurses coming! They carried those wooden ping pong paddles without the ball and didn’t mind using them. It could have been worse as it was for a few children while I was there.

  8. Linda Sinclair

    Are any of the records for this sanitorium available. I believe my grandmother, Marie McCluskey died there in 1944. I believe her son, George McCluskey, age 10 was with her.
    Thanks in advance

  9. Colleen Cochran

    My grandmother, Isabel Cochran, was there and passed away in 1949 from TB before I was born. I have always wanted to find out anything I could about the facility, the medical care she received and which building she lived and died in.

  10. Linda Lizotte

    Where would we find information on residents both alive and dead when the place was closed. I have not been able to find the location of these records.

  11. Jennifer Helms Abrams

    My uncle died at a sanatorium in Maine at a young age. I don’t know which one and my mother, Nancy (Ford) Helms, has passed. She loved him dearly and never saw him again after he was admitted for TB to the sanitarium. 

Join the Conversation

Please note:

  • We are not involved in the management of New Deal sites and have no information about visits, hours or rentals.
  • This page shows all the information we have for this site; if you have new information or photos to share, click the button above.

Your email address will not be published, shared, or sold.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.