As a Tewksbury MA Real Estate Agent, I drive by the Tewksbury State Hospital, almost daily. The facility is ocated on East Street towards the center of Tewksbury MA. The wrought iron and stone entrance as well the Queen Ann architecture can sometimes make The Tewksbury State Hospital seem like a setting for a horror movie. So I decided to find out a little bit more about it. The information I gathered came from the Tewksbury Historical Society and Wikipedia.
About the Tewksbury State Hospital
The Tewksbury State hospital was established in 1854 on a 250 acre farm. It’s original purpose was as an almshouse to the “poor” mostly made up of the influx of immigrants. It was the states first attempt in caring for the poor. A task that was previously held by the towns. Upon opening the almshouse had a capacity of 500 people and with in one week grew to 668 residents and with in the year to 800. Supposedly the almshouse started with 14 employees with a budget of about 95 cents per week per resident.
The Tewksbury State Hospital played many roles over the years and is actually very rich in history. Today it is one of Tewksbury’s largest employers and house the Department of Mental Health, The Department of Public Health and continues to be a mental health hospital. offering inpatient and outpatient services.
By 1866, the almshouse was accepting the “chronically insane”. Around 1874 the use of the Tewksbury State Hospital was 40% as a mental illness ward, 27% as a hospital , and 33% as what it was originally established for, an almshouse. In 1885 it offered a 3 year nurse training program. Over the years the name changed from Tewksbury Almshouse to the Tewksbury State Hospital to the Massachusetts State Infirmary to the Tewksbury State Hospital and Infirmary in 1938. Today it is now as the Tewksbury Hospital. Through the years, since its establishment, the hospital has treated many infectious diseases lix small pox and typhoid fever. The hospital has also served as a last stop for many patients in need of shelter and supervised care.
The most notable resident of the was Ann Sullivan from 1874 to 1880. Anne moved on to become a tutor and companion to Helen Keller.
The most prominent structure on the property, as shown above is the one we see through the gates from East street. Designed by John Fox a prominent architect in Massachusetts. The Queen Anne style building we see today was erected in 1894 as an Administrative building. At that time masonry was used to get away from the the wood frame structures for safety reasons. The impressive granite entrance we see today was erected around 1900.
As you can see the Tewksbury State Hospital is rich in Tewksbury’s History and remains to be so today.
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Kevin Vitali, Your Tewksbury MA Real Estate agent provided, Tewksbury State Hospital | Living in Tewksbury MA. Kevin has been a proactive agent in the area for over 12 years and provides local imformation not only about real estate but living in the general area as well. If you are thinking of buying a house or selling a house in Tewksbury or the Merrimack Valley call Kevin today at 978-360-0422
