In 1889, a school for underprivileged and troubled children was founded in rural central Maine. The school quickly expanded and became a complex with a few brick academic buildings and several homes where students and staff would live. During the day, residents received a well-rounded education, having the opportunity to work on the campus farm and learn vocational skills. Students were also provided with counseling and assistance when they aged out of the school and had to find jobs.
In 2009, as funding for group homes and social services were cut, the school shut down almost entirely, leaving many of its buildings vacant. Within the next few years, the school partnered with the local community college, and the complex now houses environmental science classrooms and a nature museum. Most of the individual homes have been re-occupied.
Because the campus is largely active after being re-purposed, I didn't really give it a second thought as a place to explore. However, one day while driving past the north section of the campus, I noticed that one building appeared a bit more derelict than the others:
1.
After getting a closer look and confirming that the building was unused, I returned and was able to get inside. According to a plaque on the wall, it was built in 1920 as a schoolhouse, but it was obviously more recently used for storage. The building is now filled with all kinds of random stuff, from VHS tapes to bicycles to board games, presumably all used by former residents. The building itself has gorgeous woodwork and detail, but seems to have been abandoned several years before the rest of the school shut down.
Some of my photos came out a bit dark, but I had a great time exploring!
Basement Bathroom
Boys
Mural
Girls
Desk Storage
Nurse's Table
Glassware
Analog TV (with a 1960's National Geographic perched on top)
North Staircase
Rising to Red
Wide Open
Door in the Distance
Passage
Emale Hackers (the only other graffiti in the building read "95-'96", presumably meaning that it has been untouched for a while)
Open Desk
Peeling Plaster
The Naughty Corner
Hard to see in the pic, but a ladder rose from the attic floor to to cupola. As cool as it would have been to climb it, that's a long way down if I were to fall....
Games of the Past
Yours Truly
Leaky Ceiling
Breezeway to Blue
