Abandoned places often have a strange allure. Locations once filled with activity, now slowly and silently decaying. Of course, the nature of what the place once was often adds to the atmosphere. With that in mind, let’s turn to the town of Medfield, MA. Nestled among trees and fields, you’ll find a large, abandoned campus populated by redbrick buildings. Although it may be reminiscent of a college, it is actually a former insane asylum. The public is permitted to walk the grounds, and I found the site to be both fascinating and somber.
Medfield Insane Asylum, as it was originally known, took 4 years to build and opened in 1896. Unlike other institutions of the day, it was constructed according to the Cottage Plan. This meant that it was comprised of multiple buildings, instead of one large one. Patients needing similar care could be housed together and the layout was believed to offer better living conditions. The site originally consisted of 54 buildings and 900 acres of land.
On one of the roads
In 1914, the superintendent at the time changed the institution’s name to Medfield State Hospital. He believed that calling it an asylum instilled a sense of hopelessness in patients. In the 1930s and 1940s, the hospital saw its highest occupancy at 2,300 people. In the 1960s, more patients were able to leave the facility thanks to the availability of new, effective medications. As the decades wore on, the hospital’s population dwindled and its buildings started to fall into disrepair. When it finally closed in 2003, there were less than 200 patients left.
Building A
Today, the town of Medfield owns the hospital. Visitors are allowed to walk around the grounds during the daylight hours. The site is closed from dusk till dawn. Entry into any of the buildings is strictly prohibited – they’re not safe. You’re not likely to forget this point, as there are signs everywhere warning you. The current site is quite large and there are over 30 buildings remaining there.
If you look at a map, you’ll notice there are two roads into the complex. If you’re traveling west on Hospital Drive, the first road you’ll encounter is Stonegate Drive, which only has parking space for a few cars in front of a closed gate. The second road, called Service Drive, is the one I used. There’s a good-sized parking lot right when you turn onto it. While I was there, it appeared possible to continue driving down Service Drive to reach parking at the Charles River Gateway – which sits by the northwest edge of the hospital grounds and offers beautiful views of the river and access for hiking and canoeing.
A building on Service Drive
Building near the end of Service Drive
As you stroll through the campus, you’ll be surrounded by various buildings, most of which are in a redbrick, Queen Anne style. There are also a few more modern structures here and there. All the windows and doors are boarded up, and a silence often pervades. The town does maintain the grounds, so the grass is cut, fallen tree limbs are removed, etc.
You can spend quite a bit of time walking the old streets (which all still have names in Google Maps), surrounded by the aging buildings. In the center quad of the campus is the chapel, the front of which faces the aptly named Chapel St. It’s immediately noticeable due to its clock tower. You’ll also see that its windows have arched tops and the boarded-up doors seem rather elaborate.
The Chapel
Chapel Door
If you make your way to the northern part of the site, you’ll find the remnants of fenced-in outdoor areas. One can assume these were for patients who were not permitted to roam the grounds freely. The chain-link fences are quite tall and there are even some old benches, which seem to add to the eerie feel.
Entrance to a gated area
Interior of a gated area
In the southeast corner of the site, things take a drastically different turn. Instead of large institutional buildings, there are a number of abandoned residential homes. I took to calling this area “the neighborhood.” My hunch is that some staff members once lived here. All the houses seem to share the same design, but there are varying levels of deterioration. This section of the hospital just adds another layer to the wonderfully surreal quality of the place.
Abandoned House
Abandoned Houses
Of course, when it comes to lore, you would think this place would be teeming with ghost stories. However, in my online searching, I found very little. I did run across an article about some people that allegedly broke into one of the buildings, having read online that the place was haunted. I didn’t run across any specific legends, but it certainly could be that there are tales that just never made it online. In terms of Internet buzz, focus more seems to be on the site’s ties to Hollywood. Medfield State Hospital has been used as a filming location in three major movies: The Box (2009), Shutter Island (2010), and the upcoming X-Men film, The New Mutants. It would seem local residents aren’t the only ones who have noticed that the old hospital has a captivating ambiance.
Update: August 23, 2023 – Since writing this post, I’ve run across some additional information on the topic of ghosts that I wanted to share:
As was mentioned above, The New Mutants was filmed at the hospital. While doing promotional interviews in 2020, the cast spoke about how filming at the Medfield site was quite creepy. The director stated that some of the crew had “strange experiences” and were afraid to walk to their cars alone at night. Additionally, it was mentioned that the groundskeeper shared some frightening stories. (See news coverage about this on CBR and ABC7.)
It would also appear that some paranormal investigators have taken an interest in the location. I’ve personally been told about this and searching on YouTube currently brings up a handful of videos. Thus, it may be that the old hospital’s spectral associations will grow over time.
A tattered Christmas wreath
Once I finished roaming the site, there was still one more area I wanted to see – the Medfield State Hospital Cemetery. It sits less than a mile away from the main hospital. To get there, I continued driving west down Hospital Road. At its end, I then took a right onto North Meadows Road. After a short distance I came upon a driveway on my right, next to a large field. I slowly drove up it and arrived at the cemetery. There was parking for about three vehicles and luckily a spot was open.
Cemetery Gates
The cemetery contains 841 burials and sits on 2.5 acres of land. It was the final resting place for many patients who had no family to claim their remains. In front of the cemetery’s wrought-iron gate is a stone memorial with a quote: “Remember us for we too have lived, loved and laughed.” As you enter the grounds, you’ll notice that each grave has two markers. Originally, burials were marked with a single square stone that was only inscribed with a number – no name or dates. In 2005, a project was undertaken to properly mark the graves and cleanup the overgrowth. Now, next to each original marker, is a new one bearing the patient’s name, year of birth, and year of death. It was this effort that also gave rise to the memorial at the front. It’s heartening to see how community members came together to bring back the memory of these people.
Memorial
Cemetery Grounds
For those interested in such things, Medfield State Hospital is an amazing place to visit. It’s quite rare to be permitted to roam an abandoned site like this. Unfortunately for me, it’s hard to say how much longer it will remain this way. The town has recently announced a new plan for the old campus, which includes uses such as housing, commercial space, and recreation. Thankfully, they’re saying that most of the buildings will remain and be reused. It’s a new chapter that seems logical, but I’ll certainly miss the quiet contemplation that Medfield State Hospital currently evokes.
Location:
Medfield State Hospital
45 Hospital Road
Medfield, MA 02052
Medfield State Hospital Cemetery
North Meadows Road
Medfield, MA 02052
Sources:
Calzolaio, Scott. “Medfield State Hospital: 1897 to today.” Wicked Local. July 31, 2016. http://medfield.wickedlocal.com/news/20160731/medfield-state-hospital-1897-to-today.
DeSorgher, Richard. “Remember Those Buried at Medfield’s State Hospital for They Too ‘Have Lived, Loved and Laughed.’” Patch. May 13, 2011. https://patch.com/massachusetts/medfield/remember-those-buried-at-medfields-state-hospital-forc4c1d1588e.
DeSorgher, Richard. “The Rise and Fall of the Medfield State Hospital.” Patch. March 4, 2011. https://patch.com/massachusetts/medfield/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-medfield-state-hospital.
Feldberg, Isaac. “Locally shot ‘New Mutants’ bumped back to 2019.” Boston Globe. January 16, 2018. https://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/style/2018/01/15/locally-shot-the-new-mutants-bumped-back/KK86PtJ0I0MoKGeC3cZflN/story.html.
“Medfield State Hospital.” National Park Service. Accessed September 1, 2018. https://www.nps.gov/places/medfield-state-hospital.htm.
“Medfield State Hospital.” Town of Medfield Massachusetts. Accessed September 1, 2008. https://www.town.medfield.net/556/Medfield-State-Hospital.
Smith, Jeremie. “Five Teens Allegedly Break In to Basement of State Hospital Building.” Patch. August 4, 2011. https://patch.com/massachusetts/medfield/five-teens-allegedly-break-in-to-basement-of-state-ho73b07123ed.
Staff. “Film crews visit Medfield State Hospital” The Patriot Ledger. January 10, 2008. http://www.patriotledger.com/x1151542876.
Written by A. P. Sylvia
