Criterion A: Health/Medicine
Period of Significance: 1955 - 1970
Local Level of Significance
The Young Surgical Building in Fairfield, Maine possesses integrity of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling and association. The building is locally significant under National Register Criterion A in the area of Health/Medicine for its association with the treatment of tuberculosis in Maine from 1955, when the building was constructed, to 1970, when the Central Maine Sanatorium closed. The Central Maine Sanatorium was a major facility in Maine for the treatment of tuberculosis and was the last of the state sanatoriums to close. The more seriously ill patients were treated at the Central Maine Sanatorium, where surgery could be performed if necessary. The Surgical Building is the only building constructed by the state solely for use as a surgical center for tuberculosis patients. At the time it was constructed, the Surgical Building was considered state-of-the-art and greatly expanded the ability to treat advanced cases of tuberculosis. Most buildings have been demolished here and at other Maine sanatoriums. As a building with integrity that is directly associated with Maine's continued statewide response to tuberculosis, the Young Surgical Building is the best extant resource representing medical care for tuberculosis. The Boiler House that shares the lot contributes to the nomination as an integral part of the Central Maine Sanatorium from 1935 until 1970.