WESTBOROUGH – Westborough State Hospital, formerly known as the Westborough Insane Hospital, welcomed its first 200 patients through the doors in December 1886.
Westborough was chosen as the location of the U.S.’s second homeopathic hospital for the insane because of its idyllic location on the shores of Lake Chauncy, with its neighboring meadows and fields. The main entrance of the asylum, located just off of Lyman Street (near the dog park), wound toward the administration building and a barn housing cows and pigs. Many of these buildings were built decades before, intended to be used by the state reform school before it was relocated. Patients and staff alike tended to the animals and fields; items produced were consumed on the grounds, as well as at other hospitals throughout Massachusetts.
The treatment of patients at Westborough State Hospital was considered to be among the best in the nation. Hydrotherapy, which utilizes water to promote stronger health, was introduced, replacing the more-torturous methods utilized by psychoactive medicine at the turn of the 20th century. The hospital was a completely separate entity from the town of Westborough, and in addition to producing its own food, it maintained its own water and sewage system. The poor quality of water drawn from wells and the lake required a change to the municipal water supply.
Occupational therapy was also utilized, encouraging patients to develop skills like farming, sewing, painting, and cooking. The back of one postcard sent from a patient, Ethel, in the Westborough Archives reads, “I am painting here almost every day. I shall never forget those lovely pansy’s you painted…”…