Pineland Farms is a 5,000-acre farm and recreational property in the eastern part of New Gloucester, Maine. It is partly on the site of the former Pineland Hospital and Training Center. History In the early part of the 20th century, the State of Maine purchased six farms in New Gloucester, Maine, that became known as Pineland Farms. The purpose of this purchase was to build the Maine School for the Feeble Minded on part of the land and continue farming on the rest of it. The Maine School for the Feeble-Minded and Pownal State School Opening in 1908, the Maine School for the Feeble-Minded was an institution that housed people who were considered mentally unfit by the standards of that day; however, during its early years, the State also placed orphans and other wards of the state at the Maine School, as no other public services existed to help them. In 1913, a local committee expressed concerns that the State had purchased Pineland Farms solely as a commercial venture, and that the location did not meet the needs of the Maine school. The committee suggested that the State move the school to a better location. Supporters of the Maine School, including mental health expert Dr. Walter E. Fernald and local doctor Seth C. Gordon, stated that while the agricultural fields of Pineland Farms did generate revenue, they also had therapeutic value. They would, as Gordon said, "keep these poor unfortunates employed and do them good." Maine School supporters also said that with some improvements, such as the installation of an additional artesian well, Pineland Farms could meet all the needs of its patients. In 1912, the state of Maine removed eight residents from Malaga Island off of Phippsburg, known for its mixed-race community, and placed them at the Maine School for the Feeble-Minded, where most remained for the rest of their lives. The bodies in Malaga's cemetery were removed and reinterred near the School, at the rear of Webber Cemetery on Intervale Road, with several bodies being placed into three unmarked graves. In 1921, a resident described as deaf mute with arsonist tendencies escaped from the Maine School. After burning two barns near North Yarmouth, the escapee was captured by local residents and returned to the school. In 1925, Maine was the 25th state to pass a sterilization law, which stated that sterilization was permitted "for eugenic purposes or for