Monson is a town in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 8,150 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area.
The Metropolitan State Hospital was an American public hospital for the mentally ill, on grounds that extended across parts of Waltham, Lexington, and Belmont, Massachusetts. Founded in 1927, it was at one time the largest and most modern facility of its type in Massachusetts. It was closed in January 1992 as a result of the state's cost-cutting policy of closing its mental hospitals and moving patients into private and community-based settings. The main complex of buildings has subsequently been redeveloped into apartments. The hospital campus was listed on the National Register of Historic Places 1994. The property also housed the Gaebler Children's Center for mentally ill youth.
The Walter E. Fernald State School, later the Walter E. Fernald Developmental Center, was the Western hemisphere's oldest publicly funded institution serving people with developmental disabilities. Under its third superintendent, Walter Fernald, it became a model for state institutions for the developmentally disabled. It later was the scene of medical experiments in the 20th century. Investigations into this research led to new regulations regarding human research in children.
The Belchertown State School for the Feeble-Minded was established in 1922 in Belchertown, Massachusetts. It became known for inhumane conditions and poor treatment of its patients, and became the target of a series of lawsuits prior to its eventual closing in 1992. The building complex was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1994.
The Gardens at Elm Bank, home of Massachusetts Horticultural Society, occupies 36 acres (15 ha) of Elm Bank Reservation, a 175-acre (71 ha) recreational area of woodlands, fields, and former estate property on the Charles River managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation. The estate's entrance is located at 900 Washington Street, Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States, with the major portion of the grounds located in the neighboring town of Dover. In 1987, the entire site was added to the National Register of Historic Places as Elm Bank.
Taunton State Hospital is a psychiatric hospital located on Hodges Avenue in Taunton, Massachusetts. Established in 1854, it was originally known as the State Lunatic Hospital at Taunton. It was the second state asylum in Massachusetts. Most of the original part of the facility was built in a unique and rare neo-classical style designed by architects Boyden & Ball. It is also a Kirkbride Plan hospital and is located on a large 154-acre (62 ha) farm along the Mill River.
Agnews Developmental Center were two psychiatric and medical care facilities, located in Santa Clara, California and San Jose, California respectively.
Grafton State Hospital was a psychiatric hospital in Grafton, Massachusetts that operated from 1901 to 1973. Today, the site has been redeveloped with Tufts University's Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine as a major occupant, along with the Grafton Job Corps office and various other State agencies.
The Wrentham Developmental Center, formerly Wrentham State School, is a historic state-run medical facility for the treatment of psychiatric and developmental disorders. It is located on a large campus at the junction of Emerald and North Streets in Wrentham, Massachusetts. The school was authorized by the state in 1906, and the first phase of the campus was developed between 1909 and 1917. The school opened in 1910. The school had a typical patient population of 1,200-1,300 during the 1920s. The name was changed in the 1990s. The school campus was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1994.
The Academy Historic District is a historic district in the center of Wilbraham, Massachusetts. Its 65 acres (26 ha) encompass the historic center of Wilbraham, as well as the historic central portion of the campus of the Wilbraham & Monson Academy. It includes properties on Mountain Road, Main Street, and Faculty Street. Wesleyan Academy was founded in 1817 and moved to Wilbraham in 1824; its oldest buildings date to 1825. It merged with Monson Academy in the 20th century to form the present school that occupies the academic premises. The academy was a major center of Methodist teaching in New England, and was a prominent factor in the town's growth.
Memorial Town Hall is the historic town hall of Monson, Massachusetts. Located on Main Street on land donated by the local prominent Reynolds family, the High Victorian Gothic stone building was constructed in 1885 to a design by George Potter. In keeping with a memorial to the town's fallen soldiers, there are two cannons in front of the building.
The Odd Fellows' Home is a historic Odd Fellows charitable home at 104 Randolph Road in Worcester, Massachusetts. Opened in 1892, it continues to serve as a home for elderly and disabled operated by Odd Fellows Home, Inc. Its original campus, now demolished, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. It is now housed in a modern facility, opened in 1990, with 100 beds, located on the same property.
The American Waltham Watch Company Historic District encompasses the former factory of the Waltham Watch Company, the leading American watch manufacturer of the 19th century and the city's largest employer. Located on Crescent Street and the banks of the Charles River, the surviving elements of its manufacturing facility date from the 1870s to the 1910s, and include particularly fine industrial Romanesque architecture. The buildings have been converted to a variety of commercial, industrial and residential uses since they ceased being used for watchmaking in the 1950s. The complex was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.
The Boston Psychopathic Hospital, established at 74 Fenwood Road in 1912, was one of the first mental health hospitals in Massachusetts, United States. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1994. The name was changed to Massachusetts Mental Health Center in the late 1960s. The building at 74 Fenwood Road was closed in 2010 and demolished in 2011. The Massachusetts Mental Health Center continues to operate at 75 Fenwood Road.
The Wakefield Rattan Company was the world's leading manufacturer of rattan furniture and objects in the second half of the 19th century. Founded by Cyrus Wakefield in 1851 in South Reading, Massachusetts, it perfected machinery for working with rattan, developing looms for weaving chair seats and mats. Its products also included wicker furniture and baby carriages. The company also successfully found uses for previously wasted portions of the plant, using shavings to create baling fabric and floor coverings. Its products were available throughout the United States.
The Templeton Developmental Center was a state-run facility for mentally disabled people located in Templeton, in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. Founded as the Templeton Farm Colony in 1899 through the efforts of Walter E. Fernald, superintendent of what is now called the Fernald School in Waltham, Massachusetts, it was considered an innovative and progressive facility for managing the state's developmentally disabled population at the time. The large facility was closed in 2015, with some intermediate care facilities remaining open on the campus. The property and some of the buildings were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1994.
The Northampton Veterans Affairs Medical Center, formerly the Northampton Veterans Administration Hospital, is a facility of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) at 421 Main Street in the Leeds section of northern Northampton, Massachusetts. Its campus once consisted of about 286 acres (116 ha) of land, which had by 2012 been reduced to 105 acres (42 ha). The hospital was opened in 1924 to treat neuropsychiatric patients, but now provides a wider array of medical services.
The Bedford Veterans Affairs Medical Center, also known as the Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital, is a medical facility of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) at 200 Springs Road in Bedford, Massachusetts. Its campus once consisted of about 276 acres (112 ha) of land, which had by 2012 been reduced to 179 acres (72 ha). The hospital was opened in 1928 to treat neuropsychiatric patients, but now provides a wider array of medical services. Through the efforts of Congresswoman Edith Nourse Rogers, the center was expanded to offer services to women in 1947; her role led to the center being renamed in her honor by President Jimmy Carter.
The Cardinal Cushing Centers are a set of education and support facilities for developmentally and intellectually challenged adults and children operated by the Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi. The centers offer education, training, residential and employment services, and recreational facilities on a campus at 369 Washington Street in Hanover, Massachusetts. Opened in 1949 as St. Coletta's by the Sea through the efforts of Archbishop Richard Cushing and with funding from the Kennedy family, the center was one of the first of its kind in the nation, and was renamed in Cushing's honor in 1974. The campus was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2018.
The Hampden County Training School was a reformatory school for boys at 702 South Westfield Street in Agawam, Massachusetts. Established in 1916, it operated until 1972, providing training agriculture and vocational skills to its charges. In 2010, the state sold the property to a veterans support organization for conversion to residences. The facility opened in 2017. The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2018.
