Editor’s Note: Sebastian Restrepo is a multimedia specialist at MassLive. The “Forgotten Mass.” photo series represents some of the work he captures from his travels across Massachusetts and beyond. It focuses on abandoned places, hidden gems, historical relics and forgotten lands. If you’d like to submit a tip to New England Uncovered, email srestrepo@masslive.com.
My visit to Medfield State Hospital last month was inextricably linked to memories of being chased by nothing visible up the basement stairs of my childhood home. There were also times as I walked along the broken pavement of the long-forgotten streets that the calm was welcome and inviting. The Medfield State Hospital campus has no shortage of history to justify both.
Medfield State Hospital, formerly known as Medfield Insane Asylum, was the first of its kind. Designed in the late 1800s to treat chronic mental health patients, it was designed with a new layout that promoted the feel of living in a community rather than a hospital. The history of this place is rife with sadness and you sense that when you’re alone.
Medfield State Hospital was closed in 2003. The few patients who were left were moved to area hospitals and the buildings were left to continue to deteriorate into the state they are in today. There is hope for this space yet. The town of Medfield elected a developer to convert this space into housing with a proposed plan to be finished by the end of 2026.
Until then, this property and the feelings it may give you, are available for all to walk around and experience.
