Medfield State Hospital

Medfield State Hospital. Image by User:Magicpiano, CC BY-SA 4.0,

Quick Facts

Location:

45 Hospital Road, Medfield, Massachusetts

Significance:

Architecture, Health/Medicine, Social History

Designation:

National Register of Historic Places

OPEN TO PUBLIC:

No

Medfield State Hospital was established in 1892 as the Medfield Insane Asylum. It was the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ first facility erected specifically for long-term, high-need chronic patients. Many superintendents of existing asylums, who had been debating the need for such a facility for some time, felt that it was the best way to provide for this special and fast increasing class of patients. Medfield was also the third state facility, and the first "insane" hospital, built on the cottage plan, allowing for complete classification of patients. In this case the plan is highly unique, consisting of well-detailed Queen Anne-style buildings arranged in a mirror-image pattern around a central green. Medfield's twentieth-century history clearly reflects major trends at the state and national level, with its period of significance ranging from 1892 to 1940.
 

Image Source

National Register Nomination