Togus is a facility operated by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs in Chelsea, Maine. The facility was built as a resort hotel, and housed Union veterans of the American Civil War prior to being converted to a veterans hospital. It was the first veterans facility developed by the United States government.Togus Springs HotelSprings on the site were originally described by Native Americans as "worromontogus" (sometimes translated as "place of the mineral spring"). The 134-room Togus Springs Hotel was built on the site in 1858 by Rockland granite dealer Horace Beals. Beals constructed a stable, large pool, bathing house, race track, and bowling alley on the site in an effort to duplicate the success of the Poland Spring Hotel. Beal's investment of one-quarter-million dollars failed to attract the anticipated number of visitors, and the facility closed when receipts failed to cover expenses.
