Dan's Tackle Box

Charles River Behind Medfield State Hospital

Medfield State Hospital opened in 1892, had a capacity of over 2000 patients, and shut its doors in 2003. Developers are planning to repurpose the old asylum into housing units. X-Men and Shutter Island used the location for filming. The property is open to the public from 6am to 6pm. With its numerous red Georgian brick buildings, atop a hill overlooking 900 rolling green acres and elm tree lined drives, it probably looked more like a college campus than a sanitarium. Hunting is allowed in the area, and fox hunting has been a long standing tradition on the grounds.

Old hospital chapel
charles river

charles river

charles river

charles river

charles river

Between 1918 and 1988 841 patients died while residents of the Medfield State Hospital, many without loved ones to bury them, so they were buried here
charles river

Cemetery gate
charles river

Gravestones
charles river

The Charles
charles river

charles river



charles river

charles river

Medfield Charles River Reservation trail map
charles river

Here is a downloadable custom KMZ map I made of the Medfield Charles River Reservation trails for GPS receivers