The Togus Veterans Administration (VA) Medical Center and National Cemetery Historic District is located within the towns of Augusta and Chelsea, in Kennebec County, Maine. Established in 1866, the medical center has been listed in the National Register of Historic Places for its importance to the state and the nation as a facility that tells the story of the federal government?s evolving care of veterans. Beginning with the housing of disabled Civil War soldiers and expanding with modernized medical care to meet the needs of Spanish-American War and World War I and World War II veterans, the Togus campus embodies the federal government?s longtime commitment to veterans. Thus, while the physical infrastructure of the Togus VA Medical Center has changed and evolved from its establishment in 1866 to the present day, its core mission of caring for the citizen soldier has remained. The historic district is significant at the state and national level under National Register Criterion A in the area of Health/Medicine and at the national level under Criterion A in the area of Social History. The period of significance is 1866 to 1960, beginning with the establishment of the Eastern Branch and ending with the retirement of Togus manager Malcolm Stoddard. Significance in the area of health and medicine stems from the establishment of Togus as the first national home created by the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, thus making it the earliest embodiment of a federal system of benefits for volunteer soldiers. In addition, the campus reflects the evolution of veterans? care from the long-term, domiciliary model provided to Civil War veterans to the short-term, rehabilitative model emphasized by the VA following its establishment in 1930 and the transition of Togus in 1943 to a neuropsychiatric facility. The district has significance in the area of social history for its early federal expression of social welfare which created and maintained a core value associated with the American people: caring for the soldiers who defended the country during wartime. As a result, Togus has evolved from the first federal system to provide domiciliary and medical benefits to volunteer soldiers to the modern system of veterans? benefits associated with the current Department of Veterans Affairs.