Monson Developmental Center

Monson Developmental Center is a 671-acre campus of 59 contributing resources in a valley south of Palmer, Massachusetts. The state opened it in 1854 as one of three almshouses created by a 1852 act in response to a large influx of Irish immigrants. In 1866 it became the State Primary School, and from 1895 it served as the Massachusetts Hospital for Epileptics, continuing to treat epileptics until 1960 as Monson State Hospital. Most surviving buildings date from the early twentieth century. They are mainly two- to three-story red-brick structures in Craftsman and Colonial Revival styles, including the 1898 Administration Building, patient cottages, nurses' and attendants' residences, and later infirmaries. Wood-frame farm buildings, fields and former farm colonies recall the agricultural work that formed part of treatment and the campus economy. Conditions vary widely, with some ward buildings rehabilitated and many western buildings and farm structures in ruin. The district was recognized for its place in the history of public care for the poor, sick and insane in Massachusetts.