For more information about Belchertown, there is a book entitled Crimes Against Humanity: A Historical Perspective. Many annual reports are available on Google Books (, If you have difficulty accessing records that you feel should be open, please contact the MGC Massachusetts Records Director at, Several state agencies have web portals for modern records access. In 1909 it became Bridgewater State Hospital. See blog post at http://goodoldboston.blogspot.com/2011/03/industrial-school-for-crippled-and.html. For a history of the states first hospital for the mentally ill, see Gerald Grob,The State and the Mentally Ill: A History of Worcester State Hospital in Massachusetts, 18301920. Orzechowski's first glimpse of Belchertown State School was in the mid-1960s. Patients who were unable to feed themselves were force-fed by the attendants (Sienkewicz-Mercer, p. 42), and when it was necessary to move a patient they did so roughly, causing injuries to the patient. 0.76 miles. If you have difficulty accessing records that you feel should be open, please contact the MGC Massachusetts Records Director at staterecords@massgencouncil.org. Leprosy and Its Relation to Massachusetts., Sabin, Thomas D. The Penikese Hospital A Massachusetts Hospital for the Treatment of Hansen's Disease., Penikese, Island of Hope: One of the Elizabeths, a Massachusetts Historical Site. It features a news crew touring the facility, videoing the conditions within the buildings, and interviewing numerous people who work there. For more information, see Visit SCUA. See also Templeton Colony of Fernald School. 1904, Boston, Industrial School and Home for Crippled and Deformed Children, later called Massachusetts Hospital School; today the Cotting School in Lexington. Deemed restricted. This was the first lawsuit against a state school, and others followed in Massachusetts for the next few years. 1-3353--May 1, 1872-Oct. 7, 1887), second section for paupers in the care of the workhouse; catalog link. 1839, South Boston, Boston Lunatic Hospital, later called Boston Insane Hospital, Boston State Hospital. Massachusetts Department of Mental Healths medical records request page. Honeij, James A. Volume 21 (1849-1902), last part,FHL DGS 7833946, For information on its closure in 2010, see Lee Hamel, . Business records tend to be more complete in the modern era, but the older printed annual reports are a great source of information about old institutions. Because there was not enough time for proper toilet care, residents were left "half-naked rolling in their own excrement". The records that we access are under the authority of the Massachusetts Secretary of State through the Massachusetts State Archives at Columbia Point in Boston. These cemeteries look unusual, as the graves are marked by stones listing only a number. Images of Modern AmericaSeries, Arcadia Publishing, February 1, 2016. Its this story that has so much meaning when we share it with our family. See blog post at, The records of the institution have been deposited at UMass/Boston; the finding aid is, Ann S. Lainhart transcribed and annotated the first two volumes of records for the period 1800-1864. Motion of Secretary of Health and Human Services for Additional Time in Which to Prepare Her Statement of Position, Belchertown Plaintiff's Response to the Court Order of September 7, 1983, Relative to Non-Compliance of Buildings E, F, G, and Infirmary with title XIX and the consent-decree, Defendant's Statement of Position concerning Buildings E, F, G, and Infirmary at Belchertown State School, Plaintiffs response to the defendants' statement of position concerning buildings E, F, G, and Infirmary of Belchertown State School, Defendant's Response to the Statement of Position of the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, Motion for an order to require the return of 233 Class members to the Belchertown State School who are presently inappropriately resident in nursing homes receiving no active treatment, Renewed Motion for a Temporary Restraining Order, Plaintiffs' motion for an order to require the defendants to report the death of a class member to the plaintiffs, Plaintiffs' motion for an order to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to withhold Federal matching funds and otherwise impose financial sanctions against the Commonwealth, Plaintiffs' motion for an order joining the Secretary of the Executive Office of Communities and Development as a defendant, Plaintiffs' Motion for an order to declare the Capital Outlay Budget in violation of consent decrees, Motion for an order to require the return of 233 class members to the Belchertown State School who are presently inappropriately resident in nursing homes receiving no active treatment, Renewed motion for a temporary restraining order, Plaintiffs' motion for an order to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to Withhold approval of waivers under Title XIX at the Belchertown and Fernald State School and the Monson Developmental Center without the expressed authorization of the Federal Court, Defendants' proposed agenda for providing appropriate housing and facilities for all class members, Plaintiffs' motion for an order to require the defendant, Governor Michael S. Dukakis to amend the Executive Budget Recommendations to the General Court of the Commonwealth for the fiscal year 1985 beginning July 1,1984, in the Department of Mental Health account so as to include an appropriation of $7,980,000 for the construction of ICF/MRs at the Belchertown State School, Defendants' response to the secretary's report to the court of March 15, 1984, Defendants' motion to establish capital renovation schedules for certain projects at Fernald, Dever, and Wrentham State Schools and Monson Developmental Center, Defendants' schedule for providing suitable community-based housing for class members now in interim beds, Special Legislative Commission on Belchertown State School, Joint Commission on Belchertown State School and Monson State Hospital, Report, Massachusetts Task Force on Children Suffer the Children, Report of Secretary Goldmark, on Four Deaths at Belchertown, Joint Special Commission on the Belchertown State School and Munson State Hospital, Report, Dr. Jones Report on the hiring of the Domestic Workers, Joint Special Commission on Facilities for the Mentally Retarded, Interim Report, Harold A. McCreasky and Associates, Inc., Report of, Taylor, Steven J. Bond books for transfer of cadavers to medical schools, 1893-1944; catalog link. When we cant trace family members beyond a particular point in time, one possibility is that the family member was institutionalized. Massachusetts led the national movement to provide more humane treatment in the 1800s, developing massive hospitals with what was then considered advanced treatment. of Mental Diseases (St 1919, c 350, ss 79-81), and Dept. The policy there is to allow access after a period of time, generally 75 years, but this archives period is not set in the Massachusetts General Law (M.G.L.). The Tragedy of Pekinese Island, The Boston Globe, posted 26 November 2005, the 100th anniversary of the transfer of patients to the island. Also known as Bridgewater State Workhouse, Bridgewater State Farm, Bridgewater State Farm Hospital, State Hospital for the Criminally Insane, the Treatment Center for Sexually Dangerous Persons, and Massachusetts Correctional Institute (M.C.I.) box), Copies: 0.74 cubic ft. (148 microfilm reels ; 16 mm), In two subseries: (1) Public institutions (2) Private institutions; arranged within each subseries by institution, thereunder chronologically, then by patient no, Patient records created by state institutions were sent to the Board of State Charities from its 1863 creation, primarily to track how patients were supported financially. The building complex was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1994. This economic development plan provides tax incentives to businesses who establish themselves on the site. Volume 16 (1891-1902), last part,FHL DGS 8093555, Inpatient commitment registers, 1886-1926,Massachusetts State Archives, record group HS7.04/1115X, Inpatient case files, 1886-1960, 1970-1977, Massachusetts State Archives, record group HS7.04/173X. Note that those marked with a red asterisk are deemed restricted. Leprosy and Its Relation to Massachusetts. New England Journal of Medicine 173 (1915): 48-53. The links below go to their archive catalog entries. Today, we expect social services and public welfare to help families in need to stay in their own homes and lead normal lives. In 1909 it became Bridgewater State Hospital. When it closed, its patients were transferred to the federal leper hospital in Carville, Louisiana. The policy there is to allow access after a period of time, generally 75 years, but this archives period is not set in the Massachusetts General Law (M.G.L.). It is also true that our ability to deliver treatment has never lived up to our ideals. Consent Decrees for Mentally Retarded Citizens: Produced by the Dept. State Alms House, Bridgewater, Mass., from The Old Print Shop, New York City. Although a private enterprise, it received heavy state support. Webjm etcalf@belchertown.org: Finn McCool: Health Inspector: fmccool@belchertown.org: Mary Grenier: Senior Clerk: mgrenier@belchertown.org: Carrie Latulippe Thomas Flebotte* Public Health Nurse Animal Inspector: clatulippe@beclhertown.org 413-323-0406. Massachusetts General Law often prohibits providing patient information for patients in the modern department system. There are several books that provide background on the evolving concepts of what was considered good care and on the poor conditions in these institutions. The following video is a fifty-four minute video on the history surround Belchertown State School created by Arbez Productions. The types of institutions developed over that period is staggering. Both are on the southern end of the Elizabeth Islands in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts. *, State Farm/MCI Bridgewater hospital admit/discharge registers, 1896-1966; Massachusetts State Archives record group HS9.11/2693X.*. of Mental Retardation records groups, listed in the same collection guide as above. Records pertaining to the case of Russell W. Daniels, a man with a second-grade reading ability and IQ of 53, who was convicted of murder solely on the basis of a confession while under custodial interrogation. Also known as Boston Society for the Care of Girls, Boston Childrens Aid Society, Boston Childrens Services, and the Home for Little Wanderers. A little-known legal tool called ". Jill Morelli, Finding the Records of the Mentally Ill, NGS Magazine, vol. The collection of the photojournalist Jeff Albertson includes a series of photographs taken of the conditions at Belchertown State School in Dec. 1972. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCydCs0WWtkjNz2kA5sdzRlg. Many institutions have had more than one name over time. Brooks, Walter. These records were sometimes updated with discharge information or death dates. Belchertown State School, Belchertown, Massachusetts. WebBelchertown Public Schools registration for enrollment in grades Kindergarten-12+ will be processed at our Central Office location. In 1894 it accepted only the criminally insane, and was called the State Asylum for Insane Criminals. Volume 22, Medical records, 1882-1918, FHL DGS 7833946, State Alms House, Bridgewater, Mass., from The Old Print Shop, New York City. Special Article: "From Asylum to Community: The Threatened Disintegration of Public Psychiatry", Report to the Court: District Court Monitor. Kim Caisse interviewed Lynn Blanchard (one of the authors above) for the Worcester State University News, Several independent organizations perform education and reform advocacy around the issues for which people were institutionalized. WebRobert Hornick recounts the story of the Belchertown State School in Belchertown, Massachusetts, from its beginnings in the 1920s to its closure in the 1990s following a scandalous expos and unprecedented court case that put the institution under direct supervision of a federal judge. : MS 302 Finding aid The Belchertown State School Friends Association was established in 1954 to promote improved conditions at Belchertown State School and better treatment of retarded or mentally challenged citizens in Massachusetts more generally. 'Our first students,' 1921 from the Aubrey Lapolice Collection. Jake Fletcher, Record Spotlight Massachusetts Department of Health, Institutional Registers, 1854-1918 on FamilySearch.org, posted 28 May 2016, FamilySearch (https://fletcherfamilytree.wordpress.com/2016/05/28/record-spotlight-massachusetts-department-of-health-institutional-registers-1854-1918-on-familysearch-org/). Construction at Belchertown was authorized by the General Court in 1915 with an appropriation of $50,000 to purchase land. For a contemporary view, see William Pryor Letchworth, Hospital Cottages for Children at Baldwinville, Care and Treatment of Epileptics (New York: Knickerbocker, 1900), 143-145. Massachusetts State Archives, record group HS9.15/1318. WebFax: (413) 323-0427. Originals (sample only): 0.17 cubic ft. (1 doc. Volume 3 (1898-1905), first part,FHL DGS 8093554. In Massachusetts, many older institutional registers are accessible to genealogists. of Mental Health and Dept. More recent improvements have been the makeover of Foley Field into a baseball diamond for the local Little League team, and restoration of the overgrown cemetery (with numbers marking the graves) to appear cleaner and properly memorialize dead patients by name. Discharge information is similar: it also includes how dismissed, condition upon dismissal, and remarks (generally to whose care discharged). The first report from the commission in March 1971 was scathing: The deterioration of Belchertown State School speaks for itself - a departmental inability to face up to the facts to accept the idea that there are alternatives to custodial methods of care, the resistance to the development of standards, the unclear and undefined lines of authority and responsibility in the department, the absence of management systems and management control, the severe lack of administrative coordination, the unrealistic emphasis on promises and not performance, the low esteem for the dignity and the potential rehabilitation of the individual residents, the misuse of available resources at Belchertown, and the negative and obstructionist attitude of the administration at the school." Annual reports (available through interlibrary loan), board meeting minutes, inmates savings, some loose papers, 1864-1986, stored offsite. on the legal and civil rights of the developmentally disabled, The Mass. June 19, Juneteenth: closed, Robert S. Cox Special Collections and University Archives Research CenterUniversity Libraries | UMass Amherst, 25th Floor, Du Bois Library154 Hicks Way | Amherst, MA 01003V.
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