Grafton State Hospital

Grafton State Hospital was a psychiatric hospital in Grafton, Massachusetts that operated from 1901 to 1973. Today, the site is being redeveloped with Tufts University's Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine as a major occupant. [cite news |first=Robert |last=Preer |title=Specters of old state hospitals vanish as new uses take shape |url=http://www.boston.com/realestate/news/articles/2007/07/08/specters_of_old_state_hospitals_vanish_as_new_uses_take_shape/ |work=Boston Globe |date=2007-07-08 |accessdate=2007-11-24 |quote=Grafton State Hospital. This convert|1000|acre|km2|sing=on property in the central Massachusetts hills near Worcester already has Tufts Veterinary School on half of it. Also on the property are the Federal Job Corps offices and residential facilities run by the state Department of Youth Services and state Department of Mental Retardation. A business park is being developed on convert|121|acre|km2, and housing is planned for a 50 acre parcel. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority has a commuter rail station there, too. ]

History

Grafton State Hospital was established in 1901 as a farm colony for "chronic insane patients" of the 'Insane Hospital' in Worcester. In 1912 it was administratively separated from Worcester. The Hospital is located at the juncture of the Grafton, Shrewsbury, and Westborough town lines one the eastern edge of the Central Massachusetts uplands. State Route 9 is located several miles north of the campus, with I-90 to the south and State Routes 20 and 140 to the west. The original site of convert|700|acre|km2 was expanded to over convert|800|acre|km2 by 1908 with purchase of portions of Green Hill to expand the water supply. By 1945 it encompassed convert|1200|acre|km2.

Campus

The campus is roughly bisected by Westborough Road and a former Boston & Worcester Railroad line. The campus occupies a hilly scenic site surrounded by woodlands, wetlands, and agricultural fields which are still used for hay and corn. The campus was originally developed as a farm colony for the old downtown 'Worcester State Hospital' of 1830. Most of this land had been allowed to go fallow by private owners in the late-nineteenth century, and was only gradually reclaimed for productive use by the hospital.

The Hospital was based on the 'satellite colony system'. Four fully developed and isolated colonies are dispersed over the campus. The colonies and their component buildings are linked by tree internal roadways, many of which display acorn globe streetlights. The colonies developed around the nuclei of pre-existing farms. The colonies were named according to their location: Pines, Elms, Oaks, and Willows. Most of the Willows was demolished in the 1970s.

Pines was primarily intended to serve "excited" female patients and was thus developed with large-scale brick wards that provided locked confinement for large numbers of inmates. Similarly, Elms was developed with masonry buildings for "excited" male patients. A few wood-frame dormitories provided a transition for more stable patients. As the center of agricultural activities, Oaks was developed with unlocked cottages for male patients who had proved themselves trustworthy and industrious. The Willows was developed somewhat later during the campus expansion was similar to Oaks. The 'classes of patients' were defined in terms of behavior rather than diagnosis, e.g. "excited", "violent", "quiet", "peaceful", etc.

Census

CENSUS OF GRAFTON STATE HOSPITAL
*Year 1908: over 500 patients
*Year 1912: 650 patients
*Year 1916: over 800 patients
*Year 1930: 1,550 patients, 328 staff
*Year 1931: 1,154 patients (563 women, 591 men)
*Year 1945: 1,730 patients, 250 staff with 241 vacancies
*Year 1973: 641 patients

References

External links

*http://www.1856.org/grafton/grafton.html