HS HUMAN SERVICES
Pondville Hospital.
Agency history record.
Pursuant to St 1926, c 391, Pondville Hospital opened in
1927 as the first state-operated hospital in Massachusetts to
treat cancer patients and to do research on the prevention and
cure of cancer. Under the jurisdiction of the Dept. of Public
Health, it was located in buildings of the former Norfolk
State Hospital in Norfolk and Walpole. Pondville provided
surgical services, residency training, training in a practical
nursing (from 1949), and outpatient care (St 1959, c 494).
New hospital buildings were constructed in the 1960s but as
the state deemphasized direct patient care, it was agreed to
sell the facility to the privately owned Norwood Hospital in
1981 (St 1980, c 519; St 1981, c 747)
NAME AUTHORITY NOTE. Series relating to the agency
described above can be found by searching the following access
point for the time period stated: 1927- 1981--Pondville
Hospital.
1. Researching disease. 2. Treating chronically ill
patients. I. Massachusetts. Pondville Hospital.
035: HS6.05
ID: MASVAH0293-A
Pondville Hospital.
Superintendent's land-taking files, 1911-1952.
0.17 cubic ft. (1 doc. box)
Arranged chronologically.
Summary: Pondville Hospital was operated by the
Massachusetts Dept. of Public Health from 1927 to 1981 as a
facility to conduct cancer research and to treat cancer
patients. The superintendent's office maintained files on the
institutional acquisition of land in Norfolk and Walpole,
including that for the predecessor facility on that site,
Norfolk State Hospital (for the treatment of alcoholism).
Series includes lists of deeds, lands purchased, and land
options renewed; a 1917 inventory of land and buildings of
Norfolk State Hospital; and items relating to transfer of land
from Pondville to the Norfolk Board of County Commissioners
and the state Dept. of Public Works for highway construction.
Transferred to Archives, Feb. 1982.
Agency history record (CStRLIN)MASVAH0201-A describes the
history and functions of the Norfolk State Hospital.
Agency history record (CStRLIN)MASVAH0293-A describes the
history and functions of the Pondville Hospital.
Location: Massachusetts Archives. 220 Morrissey Boulevard,
Boston, MA 02125.
1. Alcoholism--Hospitals--Massachusetts--Norfolk. 2.
Cancer--Hospitals-- Massachusetts--Norfolk. 3. Hospitals,
State--Massachusetts--Norfolk. 4. Massachusetts--Politics and
government--1865-1950. 5. Massachusetts--Politics and
government--1951- 6. State government records. 7. Hospital
records. 8. Land records. 9. Managing real estate acquisition.
I. Norfolk State Hospital (Mass.)
035: (M-Ar)241X
035: HS6.05
ID: MASV90-A747
Pondville Hospital.
Photographs of facilities and activities, [193-?]-1972.
1 v. (ca. 100 photographs and slides)
Summary: Pondville Hospital was operated by the
Massachusetts Dept. of Public Health from 1927 to 1981 as a
facility to conduct cancer research and to treat cancer
patients. The superintendent's office maintained files of
photographs of the hospital's buildings and activities.
Although they span much of the institution's life, they appear
to be a miscellaneous collection rather than the result of a
systematic effort to document the hospital's history. Topics
include exterior and interior shots of buildings and wards,
equipment, parking lots, hospital social activities, damage to
hospital grounds from the 1938 hurricane, dedication of the
chapel by Richard Cardinal Cushing, and dedication of a new
building in 1972. For related material see: Superintendent's
new building files ((M-Ar)276X)
Transferred to Archives, Feb. 1982.
Agency history record (CStRLIN)MASVAH0293-A describes the
history and functions of the Pondville Hospital.
Location: Massachusetts Archives. 220 Morrissey Boulevard,
Boston, MA 02125.
1. Cushing, Richard, 1895- 2.
Cancer--Hospitals--Massachusetts--Norfolk-- Photographs. 3.
Hospitals, State--Massachusetts--Norfolk--Photographs. 4.
Hurricanes--Massachusetts--Photographs. 5.
Massachusetts--Politics and government--1865-1950. 6.
Massachusetts--Politics and government--1951- 7. State
government records. 8. Hospital records. 9. Photographic
prints. 10. Slides. 11. Documenting hospitals.
035: (M-Ar)275X
035: HS6.05
ID: MASV90-A749
Pondville Hospital.
Superintendent's new building files, 1969-1972.
0.17 cubic ft. (1 doc. box)
Arranged chronologically.
Summary: Pondville Hospital was operated by the
Massachusetts Dept. of Public Health from 1927 to 1981 as a
facility to conduct cancer research and to treat cancer
patients. The superintendent's office maintained files
relating to the groundbreaking (1969) and opening (1972)
ceremonies for a new hospital facility. Series includes
correspondence, memorabilia, and published articles.
Transferred to Archives, Feb. 1982.
Agency history record (CStRLIN)MASVAH0293-A describes the
history and functions of the Pondville Hospital.
Location: Massachusetts Archives. 220 Morrissey Boulevard,
Boston, MA 02125.
1. Cancer--Hospitals--Massachusetts--Norfolk. 2. Hospitals,
State-- Massachusetts--Norfolk. 3. Massachusetts--Politics and
government--1951- 4. State government records. 5. Clippings.
6. Hospital records. 7. Documenting hospitals.
035: (M-Ar)276X
035: HS6.05
ID: MASV90-A750
Massachusetts. Division of Sanatoria and Tuberculosis Control.
Agency history record.
St 1907, c 474 provided for the establishment of three
sanatoriums for tubercular patients in addition to the one
opened at Rutland in 1898, then known as the Massachusetts
State Sanatorium. A board to accomplish this, appointed by
the governor, was called the Massachusetts Commission on
Hospitals for Consumptives; on the opening in 1910 of
sanatoriums in Lakeville, North Reading, and Westfield, per St
1910, c 491 the board was designated as the Trustees of
Hospitals for Consumptives (known in their reports as the
Trustees of Massachusetts Hospitals for Consumptives). St
1919, c 350, s 98 replaced the board with the Division of
Sanatoria in the Dept.of Public Health. In fact the unit was
known successively (with approximate dates given) as the
Division of Tuberculosis (1920-1940), the Division of
Tuberculosis and Sanatoria (1941- 1953), the Division of
Tuberculosis Control (1954-1955), the Division of Sanatoria
and Tuberculosis (1956-1960/64), and the Division of Sanatoria
and Tuberculosis Control (1960/64-1968). St 1963, c 558 had
repealed the legislative requirement for a Division of
Sanatoria and the institutions themselves had by now more
varied uses and were renamed as hospitals (St 1963, c 517).
The requirement for the division was reinstated, probably
inadvertently, by St 1971, c 1076, but since ca. 1968 the unit
has functioned not as a separate division but at the program
level only.
NAME AUTHORITY NOTE. Series relating to the agencies
described above can be found by searching the following access
points for the time period stated: 1907-1910--Massachusetts
Commission on Hospitals for Consumptives; 1910-1919-- Trustees
of Massachusetts Hospitals for Consumptives;
1919-1968?--Massachusetts. Division of Sanatoria and
Tuberculosis Control.
1. Administering public health. 2. Administering
sanatoriums. I. Massachusetts Commission on Hospitals for
Consumptives. II. Trustees of Massachusetts Hospitals for
Consumptives. III. Massachusetts. Board of Trustees of
Hospitals for Consumptives. IV. Massachusetts. Dept. of Public
Health. Division of Sanatoria and Tuberculosis Control. V.
Massachusetts. Division of Sanatoria. VI. Massachusetts.
Division of Sanatoria and Tuberculosis. VII. Massachusetts.
Division of Tuberculosis. VIII. Massachusetts. Division of
Tuberculosis and Sanatoria. IX. Massachusetts. Division of
Tuberculosis Control. X. Massachusetts. Trustees of Hospitals
for Consumptives.
035: HS6.12
ID: MASVAH0258-A
Massachusetts. Division of Sanatoria and Tuberculosis Control.
Photographs of sanatoriums, [1908?-194-?], (bulk
[1908?]-1930).
0.58 cubic ft. (ca. 330 photographs in 2 boxes)
In four subseries: (1) Rutland State Sanatorium (2) North
Reading State Sanatorium (3) Lakeville State Sanatorium (4)
Westfield State Sanatorium.
The Trustees of Massachusetts Hospitals for Consumptives
(officially the Trustees of Hospitals for Consumptives) were
established preliminarily in 1907, when they were known as the
Massachusetts Commission on Hospitals for Consumptives, and
permanently in 1910. They were replaced by the Division of
Sanatoria in the Dept. of Public Health in 1919, which agency
was known successively by various names; by 1968, from which
time it ceased to function at the divisional level, as the
Division of Sanatoria and Tuberculosis Control.
Summary: The Division of Sanatoria and Tuberculosis Control
and its predecessors were responsible for managing state
tuberculosis and other public health hospitals and operating a
tuberculosis prevention and control program in Massachusetts.
Photographs of sanatoriums were taken to document the
buildings and operations of the four original state
institutions for tubercular patients. Those from Westfield
were used to make a series of postcards.
Topics by institutions are as follows--Rutland: wards,
dining halls, laboratory, kitchen, reception area, dairy,
building exteriors, and winter huts; North Reading: juvenile
patients and building exteriors; Lakeville: building
exteriors; Westfield: juvenile patients in school, at play, in
workshop settings, in religious activities, scout clubs, and
holiday activities; also administrative buildings, farm,
garden, bakery, and cafeteria.
Photographs of Rutland and Westfield are most numerous.
For additional Lakeville photographs see: Lakeville
Hospital. Photographs of facilities and activities
((M-Ar)1583X)
Westfield photographs may include those belonging to Henry
Dexter Chadwick, first superintendent.
Transferred to Archives from Dept. of Public Health
(Tuberculosis Control), 1984.
Agency history record (CStRLIN)MASVAH0258-A describes the
history and functions of the Division of Sanatoria and
Tuberculosis Control.
Location: Massachusetts Archives. 220 Morrissey Boulevard,
Boston, MA 02125.
1. Chadwick, Henry Dexter, 1872- 2. Lakeville State
Sanatorium (Mass.)-- Photographs. 3. North Reading State
Sanatorium (Mass.)--Photographs. 4. Rutland State Sanatorium
(Mass.)--Photographs. 5. Westfield State Sanatorium
(Westfield, Mass.)--Photographs. 6. Hospitals,
State--Massachusetts-- Photographs. 7.
Sanatoriums--Massachusetts--Photographs. 8. Tuberculosis--
Hospitals--Massachusetts--Photographs. 9.
Massachusetts--Politics and government--1865-1950. 10. State
government records. 11. Photographic prints. 12. Documenting
sanatoriums.
035: (M-Ar)1353X
035: HS6.12
ID: MASV90-A828
Lakeville Hospital (Mass.)
Agency history record.
Lakeville State Sanatorium, one of three additional state
institutions authorized by St 1907, c 474 to join the
Massachusetts State Sanatorium at Rutland in the care and
treatment of tuberculosis patients, opened Jan. 6, 1910 and
was placed under the authority of the Trustees of Hospitals of
Consumptives by St 1910, c 198 and c 491. The first male
patient was admitted Jan. 19, 1910, and the first female
patient admitted Feb. 22, 1910, following the completion of
the women's ward. Pursuant to St 1919, c 350, s 98, Lakeville
and other sanatoria were placed under the Division of
Sanatoria in the Dept. of Public Health. St 1924, c 508
authorized admission of patients with extrapulmonary
tuberculosis; St 1936, c 346 of those with poliomyelitis
(infantile paralysis); St 1941, c 506 of those with spastic
paralysis and St 1948, c 412 of crippled children. With
continuing decline in the number of orthopedic tuberculosis
cases it became possible to admit patients with other
crippling conditions, including arthritis (St 1952, c 492) and
muscular dystrophy and similar diseases (St 1953, c 383). St
1954, c 538 provided for the care of aging persons and St
1957, c 458 for that of persons with chronic diseases.
Effective Sept. 25, 1963 (St 1963, c 517) Lakeville State
Sanatorium was renamed Lakeville Hospital. Lakeville Hospital
was closed Feb. 8, 1992, pursuant to recommendation by the
Special Commission for the Study of the Consolidation of State
Facilities.
NAME AUTHORITY NOTE. Series relating to the agencies
described above can be found by searching the following access
points for the time period stated: 1910-1963--Lakeville State
Sanatorium (Mass.); 1963-1992--Lakeville Hospital (Mass.)
1. Managing sanatoriums. 2. Treating chronically ill
patients. I. Lakeville State Sanatorium (Mass.)
035: HS6.18
ID: MASVAH0391-A
Lakeville Hospital (Mass.)
Photographs of facilities and activities, [ca. 1910-ca.
1963].
10 photographs and 14 photographs : negative (1 file
folder)
Lakeville State Sanatorium opened in 1910. It was renamed
Lakeville Hospital in 1963, which closed in 1992.
Summary: Lakeville Hospital and its predecessor treated
patients with tuberculosis and other chronic diseases. The
institution maintained a file of photographs and postcards
documenting its visual history. There are views of buildings,
wards, patients outside, and an aerial view. For additional
photographs see: Massachusetts. Division of Sanatoria and
Tuberculosis Control. Photographs of sanatoriums ((M-Ar)1353X)
Copied from originals, 1992.
Agency history record (CStRLIN)MASVAH0391-A describes the
history and functions of the Lakeville Hospital.
Location: Massachusetts Archives. 220 Morrissey Boulevard,
Boston, MA 02125.
1. Hospitals, State--Massachusetts--Lakeville--Photographs.
2. Sanatoriums-- Massachusetts--Lakeville--Photographs. 3.
Tuberculosis--Hospitals--
Massachusetts--Lakeville--Photographs. 4.
Massachusetts--Politics and government--1865-1950. 5.
Massachusetts--Politics and government--1951- 6. State
government records. 7. Negatives. 8. Photographic prints. 9.
Documenting sanatoriums. I. Lakeville State Sanatorium (Mass.)
035: (M-Ar)1583X
035: HS6.18
ID: MASV93-A10
Massachusetts. Dept. of Mental Health.
Agency history record.
Under the direction of the commissioner of mental health,
the Dept. of Mental Health is charged with taking "cognizance
of all matters affecting the mental health in Massachusetts."
More specifically its primary functions are to provide for
services to citizens with long-term or serious mental illness,
provide early and ongoing treatment for mental illness, and to
conduct research into the causes of mental illness (MGLA c 19,
s 1). To carry out these functions, the department maintains
a comprehensive area-based system to provide community mental
health services, including specialized services for children
and adults; supervises and controls all public facilities for
the mentally ill; and has general supervision over all private
facilities that receive mentally ill persons.
The Dept. of Mental Health was originally established as
the State Board of Insanity in 1898, succeeding the State
Board of Lunacy and Charity (1886-1898), itself successor to
the State Board of Health, Lunacy, and Charity (1879-1886),
both vested with responsibility for correctional facilities
and almshouses in addition to hospitals for the mentally ill
and the mentally retarded. The State Board of Insanity was in
turn succeeded by the Massachusetts Commission on Mental
Diseases (St 1916, c 285), the Dept. of Mental Diseases (St
1919, c 350, ss 79-81), and finally the Dept. of Mental Health
(St 1938, c 486)
Legislation establishing the State Board of Insanity in
1898 provided for an unpaid board of five persons, appointed
by the governor, to have general supervision over state
hospitals and asylums for the mentally ill and all other
public or private facilities for mentally ill and mentally
retarded persons, including the Massachusetts Hospital for
Epileptics, the Massachusetts Hospital for Dipsomaniacs and
Inebriates, the Massachusetts School for the Feeble-Minded and
the Hospital Cottages for Children (St 1898, c 433).
Individual hospital boards of trustees, appointed by the
governor, continued to be responsible for managing their
respective institutions, including the appointing of
superintendents.
Like its predecessors, the board acted as commissioners of
insanity (as previously per St 1874, c 363), with the power to
investigate the sanity of any person committed to any public
or private hospital or asylum, to transfer and discharge
patients, to board patients in families, and to visit and
inspect every public and private facility for the insane at
least twice a year. In addition the board was charged with
becoming informed about different methods of caring for and
treating mentally ill persons and with encouraging scientific
investigations into causes and cures of mental illness.
At the time of the board's creation, public hospital
inpatients consisted of persons committed by the courts (St
1862, c 223, as amended); they included feeble-minded and
epileptic persons, those addicted to the intemperate use of
narcotics or stimulants, and those with chronic or acute cases
of mental illness. Financial support for these patients
varied: insane paupers who were residents of towns were
supported by towns; insane paupers without a known residence
were supported by the state; all others were supported by
private means. Insane paupers could also be committed to
state hospitals by the overseers of the poor with the consent
of the trustees. Voluntary admissions were allowed under St
1881, c 272.
The board's powers and those of its successors expanded
along with the state's increased responsibilities in the
mental health area. By St 1900, c 451, s 1 (effective January
1, 1904), the State Board of Insanity assumed total
responsibility for the care, control, and treatment of all
indigent insane, which until that time had been shared by
county, municipal, and state bodies. (Responsibility for the
care of the insane in the city of Boston, however, remained
under the control of the city until 1908.)
The board was reorganized by St 1914, c 762, which reduced
its membership from five to three persons, who were for the
first time full-time paid employees.
In 1922, the then Dept. of Mental Diseases was mandated to
take cognizance of all matters affecting the mental health of
the citizens of the Commonwealth, to make investigations and
inquiries into the causes of mental diseases, mental
retardation, and epilepsy, and to collect and disseminate the
information. St 1922, c 519 also provided for the creation of
a Division of Mental Hygiene within the department to carry
out these functions.
St 1918, c 121 authorized the department to ascertain the
mental condition of certain persons held for trial; St 1919, c
142, to provide temporary care to persons in war service with
mental diseases. (Later, St 1954, c 598, s 1, authorized the
Dept. of Mental Health to construct hospitals to care for
aging persons; St 1969, c 889 established a departmental
program of drug rehabilitation; and St 1962, c 698 established
one for the training of residents in psychiatry.)
Resolves 1937, c 7 authorized a special commission to study
all aspects of mental health care in the Commonwealth and to
report to the General Court. The commission recommended a
complete administrative overhaul of the Dept. of Mental
Diseases; this was accomplished with passage of St 1938, c
486, which renamed the agency as the Dept. of Mental Health.
The Comprehensive Mental Health and Retardation Services
Act of 1966 called for the department to establish a
comprehensive community-based program of mental health and
mental retardation services including state hospitals, state
schools, clinics, comprehensive centers, and other facilities
(St 1966, 736). This legislation mandated programmatic
movement toward deinstitutionalization and the development of
community mental health centers, following closely the federal
Community Mental Health and Retardation Centers Act of 1963.
The department was decentralized by dividing the Commonwealth
into seven administrative regions each consisting of five to
eight "catchment" or service areas with area directors and
citizens advisory area boards. Emphasis was thus shifted away
from the large state mental hospitals, some of which were
closed.
In addition to area boards, a thirty-member State Advisory
Council on Mental Health and Retardation (more commonly known
as the Advisory Council on Mental Health and Mental
Retardation) was established to advise the commissioner of
mental health on policy, program development, and departmental
priorities (St 1966, Ex Sess, c 735, s 16)
The Mental Health Reform Act of 1970 (St 1970, c 888)
imposed limits on new admissions to state mental hospitals,
encouraging the transition to a community-based system.
St 1986, c 599 (amending MGLA c 19) removed the
responsibility for mental retardation from the Dept. of Mental
Health and assigned it to a new Dept. of Mental Retardation
(MGLA c 19B)
Currently the department carries out its functions at three
levels: central office; regional offices; and area offices.
The central office level focuses on hospital management,
developing policy and regulatory standards, planning,
prioritizing needs, and advocating for resources. The
regional office level ensures that standardized services exist
in all areas through planning, monitoring, licensing, and
quality assurance activities. The area office level is the
principal locus of service delivery.
NAME AUTHORITY NOTE. Series relating to the agencies
described above can be found by searching the following access
points for the time period stated: 1898-1916--Massachusetts.
State Board of Insanity; 1916-1919--Massachusetts Commission
on Mental Diseases; 1919-1938--Massachusetts. Dept. of Mental
Diseases; 1938-present--Massachusetts. Dept. of Mental Health.
1. Administering health. I. Massachusetts. Dept. of Mental
Diseases. II. Massachusetts. State Board of Insanity. III.
Massachusetts Commission on Mental Diseases.
035: HS7
ID: MASVAH0080-A
Massachusetts. Dept. of Mental Health.
Commissioner's intra-agency hospital management subject
files, 1968-1983.
1.25 cu. ft. (1 record center carton)
Summary: Pursuant to MGLA c 19, the Dept. of Mental Health
fulfills its responsibilities toward mentally ill persons in
Massachusetts through a comprehensive program of services and
facilities. (It exercised a similar function for the mentally
retarded until 1986, when a separate Dept. of Mental
Retardation was established.) The commissioner of mental
health exercises supervision and control of the department.
Commissioner's hospital management subject files are created
to inform the commissioner on policy, program, and other
developments in the various central office divisions. These
include the Division of Legal Medicine; Evaluation Section in
the Division of Mental Health Services; Office of Information
Systems, Evaluation, and Planning; and State Advisory Council
on Mental Health and Retardation. Files include
correspondence, memorandums, and reports relating to various
aspects of hospital management.
A portion of this series relating to mental retardation
schools is found in the Dept. of Mental Retardation. The
remainder may have been destroyed or absorbed into the files
of various central office divisions.
Agency history record (CStRLIN)MASVAH0080-A describes the
history and functions of the Dept. of Mental Health.
Location: Massachusetts Archives. 220 Morrissey Boulevard,
Boston, MA 02125.
Location: Active records: Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Dept. of Mental Health. 24 Farnsworth St., Boston, MA 02210.
1. Mental health facilities--Massachusetts. 2. Mental
health planning-- Massachusetts. 3. Mental retardation
facilities--Massachusetts. 4. Psychiatric
hospitals--Massachusetts. 5. Massachusetts--Politics and
government--1951- 6. State government records. 7. Subject
files. 8. Administering mental health facilities. 9.
Administering mental retardation facilities. I. Title: Intra-
agency hospital management subject files.
035: (M-Ar)361
035: HS7
ID: MASV90-A112
Massachusetts. Dept. of Mental Health.
Facility survey files, 1927-1965.
5 cubic ft. (4 record center cartons)
In two subseries: (1) Facility survey books; arranged by
facility (2) Survey books; arranged by survey, thereunder by
facility.
Programs and institutions for the mentally ill and retarded
of Massachusetts were among the responsibilities successively
of the Board of State Charities (St 1863, c 240), the State
Board of Health, Lunacy, and Charity (St 1879, c 291), and the
State Board of Lunacy and Charity (St 1886, c 101). They were
then the sole responsibility successively of the State Board
of Insanity (St 1898, c 433), the Massachusetts Commission on
Mental Diseases (St 1916, c 285), the Dept. of Mental Diseases
(St 1919, c 350, ss 79-81), and the Dept. of Mental Health (St
1938, c 486)
Summary: Pursuant to MGLA c 19, the Dept. of Mental Health
fulfills its responsibilities toward mentally ill persons in
Massachusetts through a comprehensive program of services and
facilities. (It exercised a similar function for the mentally
retarded until 1986, when a separate Dept. of Mental
Retardation was established.) Housing survey files were
created by the department and its immediate predecessor to
provide a source of information about the use of space in
state-controlled mental health, mental retardation, and other
facilities.
Facility survey books consist of notebooks for each
facility from the 1920s through the 1950s; survey books
consist of notebooks for special surveys made in 1938, 1941,
and 1965. Information on individual facilities can be found
in both subseries. Files contain facility maps and detailed
floor plans (some blueprints), completed in survey forms
describing physical characteristics of rooms in each facility
building, and some correspondence. Information varies but may
include the following: date of survey, name of building, type
of construction, number of stairs, height of ceiling, number
of stairways, number of rooms, number of beds in dormitories,
dimensions of room, and function of room. Included also is
one book describing private facilities.
The series also contains files relating to the conversion
of Cushing Hospital from a public facility for elderly persons
to a public medical institution; files relating to equipment
at the North Reading Rehabilitation Center; a departmental
staff manual for hospitals (1960s); and a manual of standard
practice for medical staff (Worcester State Hospital, 1939,
1940)
Files at one time maintained by the department's Division
of Quality Assurance.
Finding aids: Container list.
Also known as: Housing survey files.
Agency history record (CStRLIN)MASVAH0080-A describes the
history and functions of the Dept. of Mental Health.
Location: Massachusetts Archives. 220 Morrissey Boulevard,
Boston, MA 02125.
1. Mental retardation facilities--Massachusetts--Buildings.
2. Psychiatric hospitals--Massachusetts--Buildings. 3.
Massachusetts--Politics and government. 4. State government
records. 5. Blueprints. 6. Floor plans. 7. Inventories. 8.
Managing mental health facilities. 9. Managing mental
retardation facilities. I. Massachusetts. Dept. of Mental
Diseases. II. Massachusetts. Dept. of Mental Health. Division
of Quality Assurance. III. Title: Housing survey files.
035: (M-Ar)1321X
035: HS7
ID: MASV90-A455
Norfolk State Hospital (Mass.)
Agency history record.
From 1912 to 1918, Norfolk State Hospital was responsible
for providing residential care and treatment to persons
committed by courts or voluntarily because of alcoholism or
drug addiction.
The hospital was authorized by St 1910, c 635 as a unit of
Foxborough State Hospital and established as Norfolk State
Hospital under the Foxborough trustees by St 1912, c 530, with
oversight by the State Board of Charity, to provide hospital
treatment for "hopeful" cases and a detention colony for
noncriminal but chronic cases. By St 1914, c 358, Foxborough
State Hospital was designated as an institution for the
mentally ill with a new board of trustees. The former
trustees (still under the State Board of Charity) became the
trustees of Norfolk State Hospital and all (male) inebriates
and drug addicts, documents relating to the care of
inebriates, and all records of former patients (except those
committed as insane) were transferred to that institution,
which began operation in June 1914. (The outpatient
department of Foxborough State Hospital became a branch of
Norfolk State Hospital, responsible for monitoring and
advising patients who had left that facility.)
St 1918, c 139 directed the Massachusetts Commission on
Mental Diseases to transfer to Norfolk State Hospital female
inmates from state hospitals for the mentally ill. However,
that same year the hospital's inpatient population dwindled to
forty-eight. The facility was ceded to the federal government
to treat soldiers returning from World War I who were
suffering from nervous and mental breakdowns, and consequently
by the following year the facility had ceased to function as a
state mental hospital. In the meantime St 1919, c 350, s 81
placed Norfolk State Hospital under the supervision and
control of the Dept. of Mental Diseases at such a time as its
lease to the federal government expired.
However, the hospital never reopened as Norfolk State
Hospital. St 1922, c 535 provided that persons with alcohol
and drug problems be committed to state correction facilities
(including the State Farm at Bridgewater) or private treatment
facilities. The hospital's buildings were used to provide
immediate care and treatment for persons suffering from cancer
under the authority of St 1926, c 391; in this new role the
facility was named Pondville Hospital in 1927.
St 1935, c 421, which provided for a new Norfolk State
Hospital for the criminally insane, was not implemented.
NAME AUTHORITY NOTE. Series relating to the agency
described above can be found by searching the following access
point for the time period stated: 1914- 1918--Norfolk State
Hospital (Mass.)
1. Treating alcoholics. 2. Treating drug abuse patients. I.
Massachusetts. State Hospital (Norfolk, Mass.)
035: HS7.17
ID: MASVAH0201-A
Massachusetts. Dept. of Mental Health. Facilities Management
Division.
Agency history record.
The Facilities Management Division is responsible for the
physical plant and operations of all facilities under the
jurisdiction of the Dept. of Mental Health, including the
state mental hospitals, community mental health centers,
residential and day care facilities, and, to 1986, mental
retardation facilities. It includes core support services
(food and laundry) and engineering and maintenance units.
1. Maintaining mental health facilities.
035: HS7.29
ID: MASVAH0139-A
Massachusetts. Dept. of Mental Health. Facilities Management
Division.
Mental health facility blueprints and plans (engineering and
maintenance scheduled item), 1899-1928.
12 cubic ft. (16 v. and 1 box)
Arranged by facility.
Programs and institutions for the mentally ill and retarded
of Massachusetts were among the responsibilities successively
of the Board of State Charities (St 1863, c 240), the State
Board of Health, Lunacy, and Charity (St 1879, c 291), and the
State Board of Lunacy and Charity (St 1886, c 101). They were
then the sole responsibility successively of the State Board
of Insanity (St 1898, c 433), the Massachusetts Commission on
Mental Diseases (St 1916, c 285), and the Dept. of Mental
Diseases (St 1919, c 350, ss 79-81), renamed the Dept. of
Mental Health (St 1938, c 486)
Summary: The engineering and maintenance unit of the
Facilities Management Division is responsible for approving
and overseeing construction and renovation of all facilities
under jurisdiction of the Dept. of Mental Health. Mental
health and retardation facility blueprints and plans are those
filed with and approved by the department's predecessors
beginning with the State Board of Insanity pursuant to St
1898, c 433, s 10. This act authorized the board to inspect
and approve all plans and specifications for new buildings or
extensions or alterations to existing buildings that came
under its supervision involving more than $2000. Plans were
eventually maintained and used by the present department's
engineering and maintenance unit.
Included are blueprints and plans for asylums, hospitals,
and schools for mentally ill, epileptic, and mentally retarded
persons. They show elevations, cross sections, roofing plans,
ventilation stacks, floor plans, and details such as door
frames. Most plans bear the State Board of Insanity's dated
stamp of approval. Other information includes name of
building, section or floor, architect preparing blueprint or
plan, and date. Plans are for (giving latest name only) the
Walter E. Fernald School, Wrentham State School, Worcester
State Hospital, Foxborough State Hospital, Danvers State
Hospital, Worcester Insane Asylum (later Grafton State
Hospital), State Asylum for Insane Criminals (later
Bridgewater State Hospital), State Hospital (later Tewksbury
Hospital), Gardner State Colony (later Gardner State
Hospital), Taunton State Hospital, Medfield State Hospital,
and Belchertown State School. Also included is a volume
containing unauthorized working plans.
Transferred to Archives from Dept. of Mental Health, 1988.
Restricted as fragile; access by permission of state
archivist or curator of Massachusetts Archives only.
Finding aids: Volume list.
Agency history record (CStRLIN)MASVAH0080-A describes the
history and functions of the Dept. of Mental Health, an agency
successor to the Dept. of Mental Diseases.
Agency history record (CStRLIN)MASVAH0139-A describes the
history and functions of the Facilities Management Division.
Location: Massachusetts Archives. 220 Morrissey Boulevard,
Boston, MA 02125.
1. Belchertown State School (Mass.) 2. Danvers State
Hospital (Mass.) 3. Foxborough State Hospital (Mass.) 4.
Gardner State Colony (Mass.) 5. Massachusetts. State Asylum
for Insane Criminals (Bridgewater, Mass) 6. Massachusetts.
State Hospital (Tewksbury, Mass.) 7. Medfield State Hospital
(Mass.) 8. Taunton State Hospital (Mass.) 9. Walter E. Fernald
State School. 10. Worcester Insane Asylum. 11. Worcester State
Hospital. 12. Wrentham State School (Mass.) 13. Mental health
facilities--Massachusetts--Design and construction. 14. Mental
retardation facilities--Massachusetts--Design and
construction. 15. Massachusetts--Politics and
government--1865-1950. 16. State government records. 17.
Blueprints. 18. Architectural drawings. 19. Authorizing mental
health facilities. 20. Authorizing mental retardation
facilities. 21. Facilities management. 22. Scheduled. 23.
Permanent. I. Massachusetts. Dept. of Mental Diseases. II.
Massachusetts. State Board of Insanity. III. Massachusetts
Commission on Mental Diseases.
035: (M-Ar)236X
035: HS7.29
ID: MASV90-A484
Massachusetts. Dept. of Mental Health. Facilities Management
Division.
Prebidding materials (engineering and maintenance scheduled
item), 1982- [ongoing].
<12.5 cubic ft.>
Arranged alphabetically by facility.
Summary: The engineering and maintenance unit of the
Facilities Management Division is responsible for approving
and overseeing construction and renovation of all facilities
under jurisdiction of the Dept. of Mental Health. As part of
this process it discusses development of project designs with
interested sectors of the community prior to bidding
procedures. Series is created to document these discussions
and to develop related policy.
Files contain preliminary studies developed by prospective
contractors.
Agency history record (CStRLIN)MASVAH0139-A describes the
history and functions of the Facilities Management Division.
Location: Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Dept. of Mental
Health. 25 Staniford St., Boston, MA 02114.
1. Mental health facilities--Massachusetts--Design and
construction. 2. Mental retardation
facilities--Massachusetts--Design and construction. 3. Mental
health services--Massachusetts--Citizen participation. 4.
Massachusetts-- Politics and government--1951- 5. Project
files. 6. Reports. 7. Managing mental health facilities
construction. 8. Managing mental retardation facilities
construction. 9. Scheduled. 10. Permanent.
035: (M-Ar)1824
035: HS7.29
ID: MASV92-A67
Massachusetts. Dept. of Mental Health. Facilities Management
Division.
Project files (engineering and maintenance scheduled item),
1964-[ongoing].
<43.75 cubic ft.>
Arranged chronologically by fiscal year, thereunder by
facility.
Microfilm in agency.
Summary: The engineering and maintenance unit of the
Facilities Management Division is responsible for approving
and overseeing construction and renovation of all facilities
under jurisdiction of the Dept. of Mental Health. Series is
created to document such construction and renovation with
specifications.
Files contain notice of design selection, original
specifications, bid list, addenda to bids, award letter,
change orders, and construction meeting minutes. They include
capital, 601, 606, and life safety projects.
Agency history record (CStRLIN)MASVAH0139-A describes the
history and functions of the Facilities Management Division.
Location: Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Dept. of Mental
Health. 25 Staniford St., Boston, MA 02114.
1. Mental health facilities--Massachusetts--Design and
construction. 2. Mental retardation
facilities--Massachusetts--Design and construction. 3.
Massachusetts--Politics and government--1951- 4. State
government records. 5. Bids. 6. Construction records. 7.
Project files. 8. Managing mental health facilities
construction. 9. Managing mental retardation facilities
construction. 10. Scheduled. 11. Permanent.
035: (M-Ar)1825
035: HS7.29
ID: MASV92-A68
Massachusetts. Dept. of Mental Health. Facilities Management
Division.
Record drawings and shop drawings (engineering and
maintenance scheduled item), 1933-[ongoing].
<150 cubic ft.>
Arranged alphabetically by facility.
Microfilm in agency.
Summary: The engineering and maintenance unit of the
Facilities Management Division is responsible for approving
and overseeing construction and renovation of all facilities
under jurisdiction of the Dept. of Mental Health. Series is
created to document such construction and renovation with
as-built project design drawings and drawings submitted by
contractor for review and approval.
Files include records produced by the Dept. of Mental
Diseases, a predecessor to the Dept. of Mental Health.
Agency history record (CStRLIN)MASVAH0080-A describes the
history and functions of the Dept. of Mental Health, an agency
successor to the Dept. of Mental Diseases.
Agency history record (CStRLIN)MASVAH0139-A describes the
history and functions of the Facilities Management Division.
Location: Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Dept. of Mental
Health. 25 Staniford St., Boston, MA 02114.
1. Mental health facilities--Massachusetts--Design and
construction. 2. Mental retardation
facilities--Massachusetts--Design and construction. 3.
Massachusetts--Politics and government--1865-1950. 4.
Massachusetts--Politics and government--1951- 5. As-built
drawings. 6. Construction drawings. 7. Project files. 8. Shop
drawings. 9. Managing mental health facilities construction.
10. Managing mental retardation facilities construction. 11.
Scheduled. 12. Permanent. I. Massachusetts. Dept. of Mental
Diseases.
035: (M-Ar)1826
035: HS7.29
ID: MASV92-A69
Massachusetts Correctional Institution, Bridgewater.
Agency history record.
St 1866, c 198 established the State Workhouse at the State
Almshouse at Bridgewater, like it under the Board of State
Charities. The almshouse itself was abolished by St 1872, c
45. St 1879, c 291, which replaced the Board of State
Charities with the State Board of Health, Lunacy, and Charity,
gave the workhouse its own board of trustees, replacing a
board of inspectors; St 1884, c 297 replaced this by a Board
of Trustees of the State Almshouse [i.e., at Tewksbury] and
State Workhouse.
After a fire, St 1883, c 279 authorized removal of the
workhouse to quarters at the State Reform School at
Westborough; return to Bridgewater was authorized by Resolves
1884, c 76. St 1887, c 264 renamed the institution the State
Farm.
The institution was placed successively under the State
Board of Lunacy and Charity (St 1886, c 101, s 5) and the
State Board of Charity (St 1898, c 433, s 24) --by 1918 its
governing board was called the Board of Trustees of the State
Infirmary and State Farm. St 1919, c 199 removed the State
Farm from both boards, placing it under the Massachusetts
Bureau of Prisons, replaced per St 1919, c 350, s 86 by the
Dept. of Correction.
The institution originally received inmates of state
almshouses convicted of being rogues, vagabonds, and the like
(i.e., misdemeanors) as per GS 1860, c 165, s 28. (This was
extended to anyone so convicted per St 1869, c 258.) Also
admitted were incorrigible inmates of state juvenile reform
institutions. State charges generally could be placed there as
well per St 1872, c 45 (i.e., after the closing of the
Bridgewater almshouse) by the Board of State Charities (and
successors)--by the Dept. of Public Welfare per St 1921, c
486, s 28. Also admitted were aged or physically or mentally
infirm inmates of the State Prison (St 1890, c 180; St 1915, c
184)
Insane male state paupers were committed there per St 1886,
c 219; these were limited to inmates of correctional
institutions per St 1894, c 251. St 1895, c 390 designated
so-involved parts of the State Farm as the State Asylum for
Insane Criminals, placed per St 1898, c 433, s 9 under the
State Board of Insanity (and successors) and known per St
1909, c 504, s 98 (and which see): Bridgewater State Hospital.
St 1911, c 595 authorized a department of defective
delinquents (established 1922) and St 1922, c 535 designated
the State Farm as a correctional unit for alcoholics and drug
addicts, inheriting functions of the Norfolk State Hospital.
St 1955, c 770, reorganizing the state correctional system,
redesignated the State Farm as Massachusetts Correctional
Institution, Bridgewater. Its functions relating to
misdemeanor convicts were terminated per St 1956, c 715, s 21;
to state charges generally per St 1956, c 715, s 5; to aged or
infirm state prisoners per St 1955, c 770, s 122; to defective
delinquents and drug addicts per St 1970, c 888, s 6
(effective 1971); those relating to incorrigible inmates of
state juvenile reform institutions had already been terminated
per St 1948, c 310, s 22.
A unit was added for treatment of sexually dangerous
persons per St 1958, c 646, under the jurisdiction of the
Dept. of Mental Health (see: Massachusetts Treatment Center)
NAME AUTHORITY NOTE. Series relating to the agencies
described above can be found by searching the following access
points for the time period stated: 1866-1887--Massachusetts.
State Workhouse (Bridgewater, Mass.); 1887-1955--
Massachusetts. State Farm (Bridgewater, Mass.);
1955-present--Massachusetts Correctional Institution,
Bridgewater.
1. Punishing criminals. 2. Rehabilitating prisoners. I.
Massachusetts. State Farm (Bridgewater, Mass.) II.
Massachusetts. State Workhouse (Bridgewater, Mass.) III. MCI
Bridgewater. IV. State Farm at Bridgewater (Mass.) V. State
Workhouse at Bridgewater (Mass.)
035: HS9.11
ID: MASVAH0123-A
Massachusetts. State Farm (Bridgewater, Mass.)
Photograph album, [ca. 1900-ca. 1910].
0.29 cubic ft. (ca. 200 photographs (1 v.) in 1 box)
Summary: The State Farm admitted those convicted of
misdemeanors, paupers, and aged or infirm inmates of the State
Prison, among others. This album shows institution grounds
(including farm areas), buildings, staff, inmates (primarily
paupers), and activities (dining, hospital)
Photographs taken by William J. Hamilton of State Farm
staff (Almshouse Dept.). Given to Archives by his
granddaughter, Margaret L. Manning Warrell, July 1, 1982.
Finding aids: Commentary by donor included with series.
Agency history record (CStRLIN)MASVAH0123-A describes the
history and functions of the Massachusetts Correctional
Institution, Bridgewater, an agency successor to the State
Farm.
Location: Massachusetts Archives. 220 Morrissey Boulevard,
Boston, MA 02125.
1. Almshouses--Massachusetts--Bridgewater--Photographs. 2.
Farms-- Massachusetts--Bridgewater--Photographs. 3.
Workhouses--Massachusetts-- Bridgewater--Photographs. 4.
Massachusetts--Politics and government--1865-1950. 5. State
government records. 6. Photograph albums.
035: (M-Ar)973X
035: HS9.11
ID: MASV92-A62
Massachusetts Correctional Institution, Bridgewater.
Reports, surveys, and photographs, 1945-1974.
0.17 cubic ft. (1 doc. box)
Summary: The State Farm and its successor from 1955, the
Massachusetts Correctional Institution, Bridgewater, have
since the 1950s housed primarily the criminally insane (from
1894--in a unit from 1909 known as the Bridgewater State
Hospital); defective delinquents, alcoholics, and drug addicts
(from 1922); and sexually dangerous criminals (from 1958).
Series consists of miscellaneous reports surveying and
analyzing these populations. Some related legislation and
newsclippings are included, also photographs (14) of the
buildings and grounds after a 1954 hurricane.
Agency history record (CStRLIN)MASVAH0123-A describes the
history and functions of the Massachusetts Correctional
Institution, Bridgewater.
Location: Massachusetts Archives. 220 Morrissey Boulevard,
Boston, MA 02125.
1. Bridgewater State Hospital (Mass.) 2.
Hurricanes--Massachusetts-- Photographs. 3. Insane, Criminal
and dangerous--Massachusetts. 4. Mentally handicapped
offenders--Massachusetts. 5.
Prisoners--Massachusetts--Bridgewater. 6.
Prisons--Massachusetts--Bridgewater--Photographs. 7.
Massachusetts--Politics and government--1865-1950 8.
Massachusetts--Politics and government--1951- 9. State
government records. 10. Photographic prints. 11. Reports. 12.
Researching mentally handicapped criminals. I. Massachusetts.
State Farm (Bridgewater, Mass.)
035: (M-Ar)1072X
035: HS9.11
ID: MASV92-A64
Walter E. Fernald State School.
Agency history record.
The Walter E. Fernald State School, the oldest institution
for the retarded in the country, began operation in
Massachusetts in 1848 as the Experimental School for Teaching
and Training Idiotic Children.
Prior to the establishment of the school, the governor had
appointed three Commissioners of Idiocy to inquire on the
"condition of idiots in the commonwealth and if anything can
be done for them" (Resolves 1846, c 117). The commission's
report, written by Samuel G. Howe of the Perkins Institution
and Massachusetts Asylum for the Blind led to an experimental
school being funded for three years by the state (Resolves
1848, c 65) and administered by the trustees of the Perkins
Institution. The legislature incorporated it as the
Massachusetts School for Idiotic and Feeble-Minded Youth in
1850 (St 1850, c 150).
Resolves 1855, c 58 appropriated funds for a permanent
facility, a site for which was found in South Boston. From
1863 the school was under the supervision successively of the
Board of State Charities (1863-1879), the State Board of
Health, Lunacy, and Charity (1879-1886), and the State Board
of Lunacy and Charity (1886-1898), to whom it made quarterly
census reports. By St 1898, c 433, s 9 it was placed within
the jurisdiction of the State Board of Insanity.
The name of the school was changed to the Massachusetts
School for the Feeble- Minded by St 1883, c 239, which
provided that pupils were to be supported by quarterly
payments from their place of settlement (in turn reimbursed by
the state), expenses of those who had no place of settlement
were to be paid by the state, commitments were to be made
through probate or municipal court, trustees could receive or
discharge students at their discretion, and that there be
established as a separate department of the school an asylum
for those who were beyond school age or not capable of being
helped by the school's instruction. St 1886, c 298 further
provided that indigent persons designated by the governor and
special pupils from other states could be received, persons
applying for the commitment of others must first notify the
appropriate mayor or selectmen, trustees were to make an
annual report to the state Board of Education, and the State
Board of Lunacy and Charity could transfer a person from one
of its institutions to the school.
By 1887 the school needed to expand and consequently
Resolves 1887, c 64 and Resolves 1888, c 82 provided funds for
the construction of a facility in Waltham. Occupation of the
Waltham site began in 1890 and the South Boston facility was
closed in 1892. Throughout the 1890s the legislature
continued to appropriate money for the purchase of land
surrounding the school and the construction of additional
buildings.
To counter problems with students sent by their communities
who were either delinquent, violent, or insane, St 1906, c 309
provided that anyone incapable of further instruction at the
school could be sent to another institution if adjudged other
than feeble-minded by the courts. St 1906, c 508 increased
the number of trustees appointed by the governor to seven, two
of whom could be women, and the trustees were to appoint a
superintendent who was to be a medical doctor and to reside at
the school and also assistant physicians, one of whom was
required to be a woman. The trustees were to visit the school
at least once a month and report on conditions there.
The responsibility for supporting the students at the
school was removed from the communities in 1908, with the
Commonwealth being liable for their board, care, and treatment
(St 1908, c 629). In 1909 a recodification of laws relating
to insane persons provided for twelve trustees for the school,
six of whom were to be appointed by the governor. It also
allowed for voluntary admission on application by a parent or
guardian with medical certification, in addition to customary
commitment by the courts (St 1909, c 504, ss 59-65).
Early in 1915 the State Board of Insanity urged the school
to start outpatient work, which in fact it had already begun.
Clinics were started in Worcester, Fall River, and Haverhill,
with the hope that the advice and help given in the
communities through these clinics would save the Commonwealth
some of the expense of institutional care. By 1921 the school
was one of several state institutions operating traveling
clinics to diagnose children in accordance with the provisions
of St 1919, c 277, which required school committees to provide
special education to mentally retarded pupils within the
public school system.
On the abolition of the State Board of Insanity in 1916,
the Massachusetts School for the Feeble-Minded came
successively under the jurisdiction of the Commission on
Mental Diseases (St 1916, c 285), the Department of Mental
Diseases (St 1919, c 350, ss 79-80), and the Department of
Mental Health (St 1938, c 486). In 1925, a year after the
death of long-time superintendent Walter E. Fernald, the
legislature renamed the institution the Walter E. Fernald
State School (St 1925, c 293).
The 1960s brought two changes of note the school. In 1963
a work program was established (St 1963, c 394) in which
certain students, known as patient trainees, were chosen at
the discretion of the superintendent and paid for work
performed at the school. In 1966 legislation provided for a
comprehensive program of mental health and mental retardation
services (St 1966, c 735) under the Department of Mental
Health. Section 14 of the act stated that trustees of the
Fernald School and those of similar state institutions were to
establish and maintain, subject to appropriation, research and
demonstration projects in vocational rehabilitation in
cooperation with the federal vocational rehabilitation
program.
One result of federal-state cooperation was the creation of
the Eunice Kennedy Shriver Center at the Fernald School. The
Shriver Center was built with matching state and federal funds
as detailed in Public Law 88-164. The Shriver Center includes
a Community Evaluation and Rehabilitation Center, which
provides training for people working with the retarded, in
areas such as biochemistry, genetics, and occupational
therapy, and is associated with several local institutions of
higher education. There is also a Research and Special
Services Building, which was one of twelve research centers
created in the nation by PL 88-164. The research building, in
addition to its research activities, has been designated as a
state-wide resource for the retarded.
The mental health and mental retardation services in
Massachusetts were reorganized in 1986. A Department of
Mental Retardation was created (St 1986, c 599), which
supervises and controls all public facilities for the retarded
including the Fernald School and is currently under the
jurisdiction of the Executive Office of Human Services.
1. Educating mentally retarded. 2. Maintaining health. 3.
Protecting. I. Experimental School for Teaching and Training
Idiotic Children (Boston, Mass.) II. Massachusetts School for
Idiotic and Feeble-Minded Youth. III. Massachusetts School for
the Feeble-Minded. IV. Massachusetts. Experimental School for
Teaching and Training Idiotic Children. V. Massachusetts.
State School (Waltham, Mass.)
035: HS14.02
ID: MASVAH0049-A
Massachusetts School for the Feeble-Minded.
Equipment and supplies reference files, 1899-1916.
0.56 cubic ft. (1 doc. box)
Arranged chronologically.
The Experimental School for Teaching and Training Idiotic
Children conducted at the Perkins Institution and
Massachusetts Asylum for the Blind from 1848 was incorporated
by Massachusetts as the Massachusetts School for Idiotic and
Feeble-Minded Youth in 1850. It was renamed Massachusetts
School for the Feeble-Minded in 1883 and Walter E. Fernald
State School in 1925.
Summary: As a residential treatment center and educational
facility for mentally retarded persons in Massachusetts, the
Walter E. Fernald State School is responsible for providing a
safe, healthy, and humane environment for its clients. This
series was created by its immediate predecessor to serve as
reference in physical operation of school facilities, located
in Waltham, including plant, equipment, and supplies but
generally not medical or other treatment-related materials.
Files contain printed equipment descriptions (brochures,
manuals, specifications) and instructions; also accounts and
correspondence. Typical topics include kitchen boilers,
foodstuffs, and paint.
Agency history record (CStRLIN)MASVAH0049-A describes the
history and functions of the Walter E. Fernald State School,
an agency successor to the Massachusetts School for the
Feeble-Minded.
Location: Massachusetts Archives. 220 Morrissey Boulevard,
Boston, MA 02125.
1. Mental retardation facilities--Massachusetts--Waltham.
2. Massachusetts-- Politics and government--1865-1950. 3.
State government records. 4. Instructions. 5. Manuals. 6.
Subject files. 7. Maintaining mental health facilities.
035: (M-Ar)227X
035: HS14.02
ID: MASV91-A378
Walter E. Fernald State School.
Trustee minute books, 1890-1961 (bulk 1925-1961).
3 v. and 2 file folders (partial record center carton)
Arranged chronologically.
The Experimental School for Teaching and Training Idiotic
Children conducted at the Perkins Institution and
Massachusetts Asylum for the Blind from 1848 was incorporated
by Massachusetts as the Massachusetts School for Idiotic and
Feeble-Minded Youth in 1850. It was renamed Massachusetts
School for the Feeble-Minded in 1883 and Walter E. Fernald
State School in 1925.
Summary: As a residential treatment center and educational
facility for mentally retarded persons in Massachusetts, the
Walter E. Fernald State School is governed by a board of
trustees responsible for setting school policies. Minutes of
trustees of the school and its immediate predecessor register
decisions of the board, actions taken by the board, and
information reported to the board on school operations. No
minutes exist for the years 1904-1924. Minutes before 1904
include correspondence. There is also a copy of 1941 bylaws.
Agency history record (CStRLIN)MASVAH0049-A describes the
history and functions of the Walter E. Fernald State School.
Location: Massachusetts Archives. 220 Morrissey Boulevard,
Boston, MA 02125.
Location: Active records: Walter E. Fernald State School.
P.O. Box 9081, Belmont, MA 02178.
1. Mental retardation facilities--Massachusetts--Waltham.
2. Massachusetts-- Politics and government--1865-1950. 3.
Massachusetts--Politics and government-- 1951- 4. State
government records. 5. Minutes. 6. Administering mental
retardation facilities. 7. Appraised. 8. Scheduled. 9.
Permanent. I. Massachusetts School for the Feeble-Minded.
035: (M-Ar)802
035: HS14.02
ID: MASV89-A209
Walter E. Fernald State School.
Photographs of school activities, [18-- - 19--].
0.17 cu. ft. (17 photographs and 1 photograph : negative in
1 v.)
The Experimental School for Teaching and Training Idiotic
Children conducted at the Perkins Institution and
Massachusetts Asylum for the Blind from 1848 was incorporated
by Massachusetts as the Massachusetts School for Idiotic and
Feeble-Minded Youth in 1850. It was renamed Massachusetts
School for the Feeble-Minded in 1883 and Walter E. Fernald
State School in 1925.
Summary: The Walter E. Fernald State School is a
residential treatment center and educational facility for
mentally retarded persons in Massachusetts. Photographs were
presumably created by staff of the school or its predecessors
either as research material or for use as illustrations in a
textbook or other publication relating to care, treatment, and
education of the mentally retarded. They depict school
clients alone as well as engaged in occupational activities
such as making lace, baskets, and chairs and recreational
activities such as dancing and marching. Some photographs
show school premises.
Agency history record (CStRLIN)MASVAH0049-A describes the
history and functions of the Walter E. Fernald State School.
Location: Massachusetts Archives. 220 Morrissey Boulevard,
Boston, MA 02125.
1. Mental retardation
facilities--Massachusetts--Waltham--Photographs. 2. Mental
retardation facilities
patients--Massachusetts--Waltham--Photographs. 3.
Massachusetts--Politics and government--1951- 4. State
government records. 5. Negatives. 6. Photographic prints. 7.
Documenting mentally handicapped.
035: (M-Ar)878X
035: HS14.02
ID: MASV89-A364