Medfield

◂︎ Mandy & Lexi's Massachusetts Adventures

Medfield

Medfield State Hospital

Date visited: 1/12/2024

This is the site of a former psychiatric hospital. Originally called "Medfield Insane Asylum" and later renamed to "Medfield State Hospital", the buildings were built between 1896 and 1914. The hospital ceased operation in 2003. Since then the buildings have been boarded up, but the grounds are open to the public. It is a very popular place for dog walking, and sections of the grounds allow dogs to be off-leash. The building are said to be haunted, and I did see some movement in one of the windows in building 29, but it was likely just a squirrel or other critter that got in through one of the many holes. There is an effort underway to revitalize the grounds, and a plan to transform two of the buildings into a performing arts center. They actually hold outdoor concerts here in the summer, and several movies have been filmed on site. Trails to Charles River Reservation can be accessed from here, and we checked out some of those too. In all, we walked four miles around the campus and trails, on a sunny mild mid-January afternoon.