Medfield State Hospital Campus in Norfolk County, Massachusetts — The American Northeast (New England)
Future Performing Arts Center
Photographed by Marc Posner, June 4, 2024
1. Future Performing Arts Center Marker
A Little History About The Medford State Hospital
The state hospital campus was the first such facility to be designed in the cottage style" to deliver fresh air, light, social interaction, and meaningful daily activities to people on the outskirts of society a truly innovative idea of 1896. It was fully self-sufficient with hundreds of acres of farmland, root cellars, corn silos, and more than 1,000 cattle and 3,000 chickens. Patients worked on the farm, supplying food for all of the state hospitals in eastern Massachusetts.
During World War II, the campus housed nearly 2,3000 people, more than the population of Medfield at the time. In the 1960s, under the leadership of Dr. Harold Lee, MSH gained a national reputation for its innovative rehabilitation program for patients. Increasingly independent living situations on campus were combined with intensive vocational work training for patients to increase skills and potentially return to society. The entire community used the chapel for religious services, dances, movies, and as a gymnnasium.
Erected by Bellforge Arts Center.
Topics. This historical
this page online
Location. 42° 12.626′ N, 71° 20.044′ W. Marker is in Medfield, Massachusetts, in Norfolk County. It is in Medfield State Hospital Campus. It can be reached from N Meadows Road (Massachusetts Route 27) east of Hospital Road, on the right when traveling north. Located on Center Street on the campus of Medford State Hospital. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Medfield MA 02052, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Greater Boston. It is also in the American Northeast, in New England, and on the Eastern Seaboard. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once one of the original Thirteen Colonies.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 4 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Site of the Homestead of Rev. John Wilson, (approx. 2.2 miles away); Medfield Town Hall (approx. 2.2 miles away); Clarence Meredith Cutler
Photographed by Marc Posner, June 4, 2024
2. The Chapel
Regarding Future Performing Arts Center. The Medfield State Hospital was added to the National Registry of Historic Places in 1994. The Commonwealth closed Medford State Hospital in 2003. The Town of Medfield purchased the site in 2014. A master plan was completed in 2018, and in 2020 Bellforge Arts Center secured a 99-year lease on two signature buildings at the core of the campus. The Bellforge Arts Center now hosts concerts and other events to encourage the arts, outdoor activity, reflection, and learning.
Also see . . .
1. Bellforge Arts Center. (Submitted on July 13, 2024, by Michael Herrick of Southbury, Connecticut.)
2. Short History of Medfield State Hospital. (Submitted on July 10, 2024, by Marc Posner of Somerville, Massachusetts.)
Credits. This page was last revised on July 13, 2024. It was originally submitted on July 10, 2024, by Marc Posner of Somerville, Massachusetts. This page has been viewed 177 times since then and 14 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on July 10, 2024, by Marc Posner of Somerville, Massachusetts. • Michael Herrick was the editor who published this page.
Editor’s want-list for this marker. A wide view photo of the marker and its surroundings. • Can you help?
