Medfield State Hospital and Cemetery: In My Footsteps 4K New England

In My Footsteps: Medfield State Hospital

            With 130 articles written during my travels I have seen a lot of amazing places.  However, as can be the case, with showcasing a town in an article some of the places can be glossed over to make sure everything fits.  I have decided to start a series of articles each showcasing one specific place per article.  There are so many that have their own story and my experiences there deserve more than just a paragraph.  Since it is the Halloween season, or was, I have decided to begin with the scariest place I have visited: Medfield State Hospital.

            Medfield State Hospital is an historic spot.  It was a mental hospital built on Hospital Rd. in Medfield, Massachusetts in 1892.  At its peak there were fifty-eight buildings located on the grounds and could house 2,200 patients.  It was a self-sufficient property, raising its own livestock and produce while also producing its own heat and power.  The property was closed in April 2003 due to a decline in patients.  The grounds have been used for films such as Leonardo DiCaprio’s Shutter Island.

            The grounds are still open for walking as of November 2012.  When I visited I had high expectations from photos about the experience and I was not disappointed.  I pulled up and parked in a dirt area directly across the street from the imposing collection of buildings.  Sure, I had read the grounds were open but I did not see any other vehicles.  There was a white trailer located at the entrance to the grounds so I approached and a security guard stepped out.  He told me the grounds were open to be walked but there was to be no photography.  I clutched my tiny digital camera tightly in my pocket and moved on past.

            The road curves slightly and soon I was out of sight of the trailer and pulled my camera out.  I was immediately fascinated by the boarded up brick buildings.  The blood red plywood over the windows made the stoic buildings more eerie.  The sunny day added haunting shadows to these buildings.  I had the grounds all to myself and did my best to soak in this unique atmosphere.

            The deeper I got into Medfield State Hospital I began to notice something.  The silence.  It was a creepy calm.  There were no birds, no squirrels running around, nothing.  When I had parked my car there was the normal buzz of nature but not on the grounds.  It felt fitting.  The silence would eventually be broken by the howls of the wind passing through cracked windows.  The first such howl sent a chill down my spine.  It was thrilling.

            So much of my time was like something out of a suspense-filled horror movie.  I felt like I was on camera awaiting a monster or killer.  Then my fears were realized.  Okay, not really, but as I was at the furthest end of the Medfield State Hospital grounds I noticed a beige sedan slowly creeping its way up one of the roads.  There was a single man driving and scoping things out.  A perfect horror movie setup, right?  I tucked my camera in my pocket as he slowly passed.

            On the eastern edge of the grounds is a white water tower which gave me a dream vibe, like it was something you would have seen in a dream sequence of A Nightmare on Elm Street.  Perhaps the creepiest part of these buildings was the ‘crying’ windows.  The window frames were painted white and the years of weather had caused the white paint to run some down the bricks looking like ‘tears.’  In a place where mental patients once roamed it again seemed fitting.

            All of these creepy experiences are not meant to drive potential visitors away.  On the contrary, I believe that these things make it a more desirable place to see.  Some of the buildings were in great condition such as the main hospital building and the church.  Other buildings were damaged and had the red ‘X’ on the façade indicating they were most likely meant for demolition.  With roads and sidewalks there were times it felt like I was walking through a haunted ghost town; I could almost hear the sounds of the former patients on the wind.  To make the creepy journey complete if you’d like there is a Medfield State Hospital cemetery a few hundred yards west of the ground where 841 patients were buried between 1918-1988.  I did not venture that far.

            Easily the most eerie spot I have visited, Medfield State Hospital is a must see for horror fans.  I heard the howling winds, saw the creepy man slowly driving the grounds in his car, and heard the silence from the birds and squirrels.  Who knows what experiences you will have when you go?  Perhaps you should bring your running shoes though.  Have fun and happy traveling!

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Medfield State Hospital: 9 Hospital Rd., Medfield, Mass. GPS (42.207954,-71.335561)

            From I-95 N take Exit 9 for Rt. 1. Take 1^st left onto Rt. 27, follow it 8.6 miles. Turn right onto Hospital Rd., hospital grounds will be on the left.

Links: Medfield Patch.com - Medfield State Hospital

The hospital grounds looked like an abandoned ghost town.

Some buildings were in relatively good condition.

This look like a something dream sequence from A Nightmare on Elm Street.

The 'crying' windows.

The creepy church.

           

           

In My Footsteps: Trip 117: Medfield, Massachusetts

In My Footsteps

Christopher Setterlund

Trip 117:  Medfield, Massachusetts

March 30, 2011

            Never had I been so excited and so scared to visit a place as I was when I visited Medfield.  No, there is nothing scary about Medfield itself, it is a beautiful town about twenty-five miles southwest of Boston.  It was getting to step foot on the grounds of an abandoned mental hospital that made this trip different from any I had taken before.

Peak House

            Originally part of Dedham, the town of Medfield was particularly ravaged during King Philip’s War during 1675.  Half of the town was burned to the ground by the Native Americans.  The first spot I visited, the Peak House, was burned to the ground and rebuilt shortly thereafter.  Rebuilt in 1680 the small home on Main Street has a very high pitched steep roof which makes it look different than the average house.  It is said that the house has the steepest roof on record for a 17^th century house in Massachusetts.

            Taking a break from the historic homes of Medfield I ventured to a secluded hiking area called the Noon Hill Reservation.  I parked on the similarly named Noonhill Road and hiked the trail that led to the summit of Noon Hill.  The reservation itself is 204 acres which would take a lot of time to see, but the trail up to the summit of the 370-foot Noon Hill will give you a great idea of what the area is all about.  There are some clearing areas at the top which allow you to see neighboring Walpole, Norfolk, and even Great Blue Hill.  It is definitely a worthwhile hike.

Dwight-Derby House

            Returning to the historic areas of Medfield I went to check out the Dwight-Derby House on Frairy Street.  Built in 1651 the house is one of the ten oldest homes in America.  As if that wasn’t enough if you simply turn around there is an amazing scene.  Sitting just on the other side of Meetinghouse Pond is the First Unitarian Church built in 1789.  When the weather is right there is a near perfect reflection of the church in the pond’s peaceful waters.  The weather was right on this day which is why I am mentioning it.

            Despite all of the other wonderful spots to check out in Medfield there was one that I was excited to see well before my arrival and that was the abandoned Medfield State Hospital on Hospital Road.  Built in 1892 the hospital was for the clinically insane, a mental hospital.  At its peak there were fifty-eight buildings on 900 acres housing a maximum of 2,200 patients.

Part of the 'neighborhood' of buildings at Medfield State Hospital.

            The property was closed down in 2003 but recently reopened to the public; it has even been used for movies like Shutter Island.  I knew upon arrival that this was going to be different than almost any place I had seen thus far and it was.  I parked in an abandoned field across the street and approached the guard shack.  The guard let me in and I was soon on my way into another world.

            This ‘hospital’ was more like an abandoned neighborhood, there were so many buildings, red brick with red plywood over most of the windows.  The blood red color only made the long walk from the guard shack to the neighborhood of abandoned buildings more eerie.  There were hardly any sounds, no birds, no animals foraging around, really creepy.  I also noticed signs with red ‘X’s’ on some and single slashes on others.  I can only assume that this is marking which buildings are to be torn down and which are to remain standing.

The creepy 'crying' windows at Medfield State Hospital.

            It was easy for me to get lost in thinking of what the place was like when it was active having seen so many clichéd horror movies dealing with mental hospitals.  It was only made creepier by the other security guard slowly patrolling around the grounds in his car.  There were things about the Medfield State Hospital that were odd and added to the experience.  Once such thing was the trails of white paint running underneath many windows of the buildings, it made it seem like the windows were crying which was really unsettling. 

            It may be a little unnerving to walk the grounds of the Medfield State Hospital but I would recommend it to anybody who likes a little bit of terror with their travels.  If not there are plenty of other awesome places to check out like Noon Hill and the historic Peak and Dwight-Derby Houses.  Medfield was a great spot for me and I think it has something for everybody’s tastes.  Have fun and happy traveling!

            For more In My Footsteps items follow my Twitter Feed, view more photos at the In My Footsteps fan page on Facebook, or visit my homepage at ChristopherSetterlund.com.   Thanks for reading!  

           

Directions:  Noon Hill Reservation:  From Rt. 3 take exit 20A to merge onto I-93 S, continue onto Rt. 1 S, continue onto I-95 N.  Take exit 16B for Rt. 109 W., follow 7.6 mi., turn left onto South St., turn left onto Rt. 27 S., take 1^st right onto South St., take 3^rd right onto Noonhill Rd., parking area is on the left.

            Medfield State Hospital:  From Rt. 3 take exit 20A to merge onto I-93 S, continue onto Rt. 1 S, continue onto I-95 N.  Take exit 16B for Rt. 109 W., follow 7.7 mi., turn right onto North St., take a slight left onto Harding St., slight left onto Hospital Rd.  Main entrance to hospital grounds is .7 mi. up on right.  I parked across the street when I visited.

References:  Medfield, Ma. - Official Town Site

            Medfield Historical Society.org

            Rise and Fall of the Medfield State Hospital - Medfield.Patch.com - 03/04/11