WESTBOROUGH – In the mid-19th century, Westborough was at the forefront of the nation. The State Reform School for Boys in Westborough was the first reform school opened in the United States; The National Magazine described it as “the first enterprise in our country whereby a state, in the character of a common parent, has undertaken the high and sacred duty of rescind and restoring her lost children, not so much as the terrors of the law as by the gentler influences of the school.” From 1848 to 1971, the program would house thousands of boys.
Initially built to house 300 boys on a property on northern shores of Lake Chauncy, an additional 100 acres and a few buildings were added to accommodate an additional 250 in a more “congregate system” in 1853. Buildings on the property included a chapel, classrooms, accommodations for staff, and 20 cells for “more difficult” boys. An 1854 report stated, “When they enter, the majority are haggard, ragged, emaciated, and vile in the extreme.” As needs and philosophies surrounding appropriate sentencing for the boys evolved, many changes to the facilities were implemented. Rather than living in “family” style buildings, in 1885, the boys were moved to a new facility on Lyman Street. Known as the Lyman School for Boys, the new location comprised about 700 acres; buildings included dormitories, a hospital, woodworking shops, a large printing shop, and agricultural farming land.
Boys were sent to the Reform School for truancy, larceny, vagrancy, disobedience, and stubbornness. Many of the boys came from impoverished homes or had been surviving on the streets. Others were convicted of far more violent crimes. Boys of all ages were sentenced to the Lyman School, so an attempt was made to separate them by age in the dormitories. The boys followed a rigorous schedule, but administrators often struggled to maintain the safety of the boys….