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POLAND — The Poland Historical Society will host an open house and reception at the former Poland Spring Health Institute, also known as Thurston Farm or The Cook House, at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 18 at 32 Summit Spring Road. The event is free to the public, and refreshments will be served.
The earliest known owner of the land was Freeman Thurston, who erected two buildings on the property. An early photo from this era shows two adjacent houses. In 1905, the land was acquired by Charles H. Capatain. Little is now known about Capatain, but it is recorded that he tore down one home, moved the other, and used the relocated house to form the basis of the current structure.
In 1926, Capatain sold the property to Hiram Abrams, originally from Portland, a pioneer in the early motion picture industry who also served as president of Paramount Pictures. Old photographs show him hobnobbing with Hollywood stars like Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks. Abrams fell on hard times when he was implicated in a major Hollywood scandal. It seems he was the main organizer of a party for Fatty Arbuckle and other film industry elites. When the party got out of hand, witnesses to the events successfully blackmailed Abrams and his bosses for $100,000. Soon after, Abrams was relieved of his position at Paramount.
Abrams had purchased the Poland property as a planned retirement estate. Unfortunately, he died before he could take up permanent residence. Although Abrams was a well-known public figure in his lifetime, history has largely forgotten his story. In 1944, the property was acquired by Joseph and Helen Cook. Joseph Cook was a successful manufacturer of concrete products in the years following World War II. He passed away in 1957, and his widow occupied the property until 1976. In recent years, the land and buildings served as the Poland Spring Health Institute – a health care and spiritual retreat. The property is currently owned by Steve Kinney – a local veterinarian – and is known as the Summit Spring Barn & Inn. Many Poland residents still refer to the site as “The Cook House.”
