Defunct Agencies and Institutions
Scope and Contents
This resource contains records on/from two sources: Maine’s tuberculosis sanatoriums and Indian affairs.
The Tuberculosis Sanatorium Records include approximately 18 linear feet of materials from three sanatoriums: Central Maine (1939-1954), Northern Maine (1939-1955), and Western Maine (1939-1953). The bulk of the collection is correspondence and related records of the first superintendent and medical director of the Western Maine facility, Dr. Estes Nichols, comprising the years 1901 to 1966. Other materials are annual reports; Western Maine Sanatorium reports cover the years 1915-1940, and other reports are from 1939-1955. Finally, the collection includes a register book from the Western Maine Sanatorium for April 27, 1911 to October 4, 1955.
The Indian Affairs records include approximately 64 linear feet of materials from a variety of sources spanning the years 1818 to 1979, largely related to the Penobscot and Passamaquoddy tribes. The diversity of sources and broad span of years reflects the diffused and often tangled management of the tribes by the state and through tribal self-rule. Materials include, but are not limited to, ordinances, welfare disbursements, reports, census data, newspaper clippings and scrapbooks, trust funds, elections, deeds, treaties, legislative materials, administrative materials, and maps. Much of the materials are from the Department of Indian Affairs, which was in existence from 1965-1979. This collection is currently being processed; more detailed information on these holdings will be available as processing progresses.
Dates
- Creation: 1820 - 1980
Biographical / Historical
Tuberculosis Sanatoriums
Tuberculosis, historically known as consumption, is an airborne pathogen that became an epidemic in the 19th century, leading to the opening of sanatoriums to segregate and treat victims of the disease; over the years there were nine Maine tuberculosis sanatoriums. In 1915, the Legislature passed P.L. c.351, “An Act to Provide for the Care and Treatment of Tubercular Persons,” appropriating an initial $75,000 for this purpose, leading to the three state-run and owned tuberculosis sanatoriums: Western Maine Sanatorium, Central Maine Sanatorium, and Northern Maine Sanatorium. Deaths were eventually greatly reduced by the post-World War II widespread use of tuberculosis vaccinations, the development of effective antibiotic treatments, and the pasteurization of dairy products, and the last Maine tuberculosis sanatorium closed in 1970.
Indian Affairs
With the 1820 separation of Maine from Massachusetts, Maine assumed the duties and obligations previously held by Massachusetts regarding the Maine tribes. Over the following two centuries, administrative responsibilities for the tribes changed hands multiple times and were frequently under multiple concurrent authorities. Initially, the governor and executive council had formal authority over the tribes, which was then passed on through several departments, including a Bureau of Indian Affairs and a Department of Indian Affairs, until the 1980 creation of the Maine Indian Tribal State Commission.
Extent
88.75 Linear Feet (91 containers)
Language of Materials
English
- Status
- Completed
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Maine State Archives Repository
