1,382 Comments for Dixmont State Hospital

Nik..I agree with you calling Johnny out..sounds like a crock to me, too.

dme..thanks for those comments. And Lynee..SO glad you can set people straight! People need to remember that times were different when these large institutions were built and put into service. There was a whole different way that people thought of the mentally ill..and it was far from pleasant. They were basically a scourge on society, and these institutions..at least in the beginning..were offering a far better life for the patients, most likely. And unless you yourself was a patient, or you worked there, none of us can judge what it was really like.

Everyone bitches about Wal-Mart buying this place..yes I know that fell through..but even so..the buildings were going to be torn down anyway! Don't get me wrong..I'm one that advocates saving historical buildings..but it's not like Wal-Mart goes around trying to destroy historical places out of spite.

the patient inside were trying to claw their way out. Terrifying

There were shackles in the tunnels before the property was cleaned out.

It was a failed arson that left the building in this condition.

Outstanding!!

No I didn't explore much of the attic space.

Hey Motts!
Quick question- were you able to get the attic looking hole in the ceiling?

God I hope those walls had some sort of padding on them, otherwise *looks at own fingernails and cringes* Ouch

In high school we, my sister and I, were in in a club that toured Dixmont Hospital. It was a very beautiful building, so sad that it could not be saved for historical purposes.

To answer the thing about the hose, that is a class II Fire Suppression System. Inside of it would be a single jacket, 1 and 1/2 inch diameter hose to be used in case of fire. Mind you I am a fire student, and it's places like here and many in my state of Ohio that make me hate Wal-Mart So much.

It would be wonderful to find out the details behind this mural. The feeling I get from it is this was an outpatient area, or a part of the hospital where patients could go to socialize, receive counceling, or take part in arts and crafts or other activities, and the people on the wall were staff and patients heavily involved with this area. Is it possible many of these folks are still alive and living in the area? If anyone has found out information please post. Thank you Dan

Controls for a dry pipe fire suppression system. The white pipe at the upper left is an air line to keep the system charged. The strange looking device above the gate valve is what is call a "clapper valve". It works on the principle that the air in the system, on top of the clapper, which has a diameter 4 to 5 times of the diameter of the bottom of the clapper. What this means is that 40 psig of air on the top of the clapper can resist over 150 psig of water pressure on the bottom of the clapper.
One sprinkler head pops, the air is gone, the clapper valve opens and stuff gets big time wet.

I remember trying to go up one of the staircases from the first floor, in broad daylight the stairs were pitch black and we had to go get flashlights.